Kealia Farm Market, A New Farmers Market in Kapaa
Chung Li sells just harvested produce. Photo by Marta Lane
This February, Kealia Farm Market opened by showcasing farmers who grow on a 40-acre property known as Kealia Farm. Besides just harvested produce, this market offers fish caught off Kauai’s shores as well as taro products such as poi, cooked corms, pie and laulau. Since all of the farmers are from one farm, founder Adam Asquith is not calling it a farmers market, rather it’s a farm market. Located across from Kealia Beach, behind the Kealia Post Office, you’ll see a red wagon and shortly thereafter, a parking lot on the left. The market is open every Monday and Friday from 3 to 7 p.m. When designing the market, Adam wanted to create something by the community for the community. The hours accommodate people who work during the day and m Kapaa residents volunteer their time to promote and manage the market.
Vendors sell under a rooftop with a concrete floor. Marta Lane photo
Vendors sell under a rooftop with a concrete floor while Hawaiian music plays. Some of the farmers lived at Kealia Camp when the area was a pineapple plantation and Adam is happy to have them return, growing food once again. Fish is caught by local families and sold fresh to take home, or you can order it grilled and served with a kale salad.
Last Friday’s fresh fish options were ahi, hebi and mahi. Marta Lane photo.
Produce is grown by 10 farmers on more than 20 acres and by year’s end, Adam anticipates the farmers collective will grow produce on 40 acres. Twenty acres are dedicated to wetland taro and 20 acres will be dedicated to fruit and vegetable production. At Kealia Farm Market, all produce must be grown without chemical sprays. If Adam learns that a farmer is spraying chemical herbicides or pesticides, they will be vacated from the property. And you can be confident that the produce you buy is grown on Kauai, because all produce sold at the market is grown at Kealia Farm.
Value added products made with taro include poi, cooked corms, laulau and pie. Marta Lane photo.
Future plans include the opportunity to adopt a goat for goat’s milk, and a weekly grass fed cow share that can easily accommodate small families who eat meat once a week. A lei garden is in the works, and Elvrine Chow will demonstrate how she makes lei and haku. For now, you can order one of Elvrine’s hakus and meet her during our Kauai Food Tour – South Shore.