Meet These Seed Growers
Hawai'i Island
BEACH ROAD FARM
Meet Lyn Howe & Geoff Rauch
Beach Road Farm - Pahoa, Hawaiʻi Island
As a diversified agro-ecological farm, we worked to specialize in growing fruits, vegetables, medicinal and culinary herbs, spices, seed and nut crops. Our farm is located at a 50ʻ elevation, 500 ft. from the ocean in lower Puna. For the past 15 years, we worked to transform a 750-year-old lava flow, in a dense jungle with no soil, to a thriving eco-farm. Composting, mulching, cover crop rotation, planting nitrogen-fixing crops and using Korean Natural Farming methods were the foundation of our work as we sought to create a rich biodiversity. Learning from nature, building the health, vitality, and microbiome of our land, selecting for crops that performed well in our microclimate and saving their seed over generations, have all contributed to achieving the goals we envisioned. For years we sold our produce at Locavore Store in Hilo and value-added products at several Big Island locations and at our neighborhood honor-system stand.
Geoff and Lyn founded the "Know Your Farmer Alliance" in 2004, offering monthly workshops and farmer/gardener gatherings, newsletters, and tours to learn and share information on growing and using our unique local foods. Lyn & Geoff started the Hawaii Island Eastside Seed Exchange in 2005, which continues to this day, hosted by Laʻakea Permaculture Gardens. Since 2011, Lyn has worked as Coordinator and recently Director of the Hawai`i Public Seed Initiative, a project of The Kohala Center.
learn more about our passion for growing good food and medicine.
With a passion for growing local food and adapting select crop varieties, saving seed and sharing with the community. Beach Road farm works together with the Hawaiʻi Seed Savers Network to help develop a good selection of great seeds for Hawai`iʻs needs.