Successful Upcountry business believes the more you give, the more you have.The scents of lavender and eucalyptus season the clear, cool air as wisps of afternoon clouds weave a path through Haleakala’s sleepy groves and gardens. A hush escorts the mist, interrupted only by the far-flung cluck of a pheasant disturbed by an unseen intruder. Deep breaths come easily on this upland slope. The worries of everyday life are abandoned in town 4,000 feet below. This is lavender country.
Ali‘i Kula Lavender Farm has positioned itself perfectly as a unique purveyor of serenity and inspiration. They call it the “lavender lifestyle,” and in the six years they have been in business, it’s generated an enthusiastic following.
“The first year we had 300 visitors,” said Marketing and PR Director Lani Medina Weigert. “The year after that it was 3,000.” An expansion a few years ago sparked a 70 percent increase in business and 2008 looks promising, too. Three-quarters of those who visit are Hawai‘i residents.
Their success lies in a brave new philosophy that transcends old world ways of doing business.
“We believe the more you give, the more you have,” said Weigert. “And there’s more than enough for everybody.”
A sense of abundance envelopes the farm and every visitor who steps foot on it. There are 55,000 lavender plants flourishing on the 10-acre parcel of land that was barren less than a decade ago.
Back then, co-owner and agricultural artist Ali‘i Chang wanted to grow something here. But there was no natural water source. Chang followed his intuition anyway, researching ideal crops for the slope’s conditions. He discovered that the drought-tolerant lavender plant thrived in rocky soil with scant moisture.
With that as their foundation, the team worked toward their vision.
“We wanted to create meaningful relationships,” said Weigert. “We want people to come here to reconnect with the land—with themselves—and to remember to celebrate life.”
In this way, Ali‘i Kula Lavender (AKL) is like A Field of Dreams. They believed that if they created a place where people could wander garden pathways, inhaling the peace of mind that hangs in the air, the reprieve experienced would be the thing that people would want to carry back down the hill with them.
Visitors have responded to the call in droves. People shuffle amidst the purple shrubs, lingering for tea and scones before gathering armloads of body lotion, scented sachets and lavender-infused jam to contrive a similar refuge at home.
In recognizing people’s innate craving for a sense of space and peace, this farm has cornered the market on an emerging global trend: agritourism.
For Weigert, Chang and Operations Chief Mars Simpson, the marriage of Maui’s two biggest industries is a natural fit. Smaller farms’ survival depends on diversification. The AKL team bet on a single crop’s wide range of a related revenue streams.
Beyond tea, lunch service and lavender-based products, revenue is generated by farm tours, plant sales, logowear, and group events like weddings or wreath-making workshops.
Perhaps most enterprising, though, is the collaborative partnerships they’ve forged with other small businesses across the state.
“In agriculture, collaboration makes sense,” said Weigert. To expand, they had to address a lack of knowledge, money and infrastructure. When they wanted to start a line of culinary products, they turned to someone with that core competency.
“Maui Upcountry Jams & Jellies had manufacturing facilities and expertise,” she said.
They formed a strategic alliance with the Kula home-based business, outsourcing everything from inventing recipes to packaging the final products. It became clear this was a successful model to be broadly replicated.
Now when visitors load up their recyclable shopping bags, they are supporting local family-run farms and small businesses. The strawberries are from Kula Country Farms, gourmet seasonings from Upcountry Specialties, goat milk soaps from Olinda’s Rainbow Ridge Farms, and lavender-infused ice creams from Roselani Ice Cream.
Spanning the entire island chain, the lavender chocolate truffles are made in partnership with Big Island Candies and Kaua‘i Kookie Company bakes the shortbread cookies.
“About 82 percent of our revenue comes from these value added products,” said Weigert.
Now they are sharing the secret to their success.
She and Chang are teaching other Hawai‘i farmers how to diversify, enter strategic alliances to broaden product offerings, and retool their farms to capture the agritourism market.
Together with other innovators, they have founded the Hawai‘i Agritourism Association (HATA), a nonprofit organization supporting others who are adopting the model.
Born out of a vision that local farmers can eventually grow enough food to sustain the entire community, HATA’s mission is to preserve farms, create jobs and boost the overall economy.
Is it possible to build a system that really supports all of Hawai‘i’s food needs?
“It’s completely within our grasp,” said Weigert.
The farm is just above Rice Park in Kula at 1100 Waipoli Road. For more information, call 878-3004 or visit www.aklmaui.com.