21 Degrees Estate
Cacao Farm
Welcome to 21 Degrees Estate Cacao Farm!
We are a family-owned and operated early-stage cacao farm located on Oahu's beautiful, verdant windward coast in the fertile Kahaluu valley.
We also aim to create awareness about growing cacao in Hawaii and are committed to managing the aina (land) in a sustainable, mindful and diverse manner.
At 21 Degrees Estate, our interest in cacao goes beyond just producing chocolate. We are interested in growing a plant unique to this latitude and one that is proudly "Hawaii-grown." Join me in learning more about this amazing fruit and about our adventures in farming and "chocolatiering"!
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About
Aloha and E komo mai to 21 Degrees Estate! When my husband and I each retired from the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Air Force respectively, we knew that we wanted to remain in Hawaii and that we wanted to find a place and create a space that would not only serve as a magical and beautiful surrounding in which our children could thrive, but also one which could be shared with others. After nearly a year of looking at properties, we knew we had found just the spot in September 2014. Already a farm with mature agriculture like apple-bananas, coconut, starfruit, turmeric, avocado, mango, guava, lilikoi and beautiful heliconia, bird-of-paradise and red and pink ginger flowers, we decided to plant cacao. The windward coast of Oahu is fondly referred to by chocolatiers like Madre Chocolate's Co-founder and ethnobotanist, Nat Bletter, as the "Napa Valley" of chocolate due to its unique micro-climate, soil and moisture. We are excited to be joining other Hawaii cacao farmers in cultivating this novel and unique fruit and have christened our farm "21 degrees Estate" due to the latitude location of Oahu, Hawaii. Although there are a number of pre-existing cacao trees on the property, we are in the process of laying out a more deliberate orchard plan beginning with new seedlings of criollo and trinitario varieties which will grow up along with planned windbreak trees like koa and mahogany in the outfield and citrus and nitrogen-fixing legumes infield. At the same time, we aim to be mindful of ensuring a diverse farm free of harmful pesticides and one which uses renewable energy sources whenever possible. Ours is an early-stage, 10-acre cacao farm which is still very much a work in progress. But we believe the journey is as important as the final outcomes and are looking forward to the continued serendipity of events that have brought us to this point! We invite you to join us on the journey going forward!
Yours in chocolate,
Maria Carl and Michael Rogers
Projects
- Clear and contour orchard space for optimal drainage, sustainability & permaculture
- Remove invasive trees that present risk to environment
- Renovate existing farm dwellings
- Complete initial lower orchard plantings
- Complete "Cacao Triangle" demonstration area
- Establish partnerships with local chocolatiers, chefs, education groups, farmers and cacao association
Latest Project: Lower Cacao Orchard
Events, Tours
There are currently no public events scheduled. All events and tours are small and by reservation only. Please check back with us for special community cacao planting events!
For more information, contact:
twentyonedegreesestate@outlook.com
Follow us on Facebook's Hawaii Cacao Chick page!
Here is the entrance to 21 Degrees Estate where you can see the lower 2 acres cleared for the initial planned cacao orchard. We're taking care to contour this low-lying land such that when we experience heavy rains, the field will drain properly through the buried French drains into the perimeter stream without topsoil washing off and without standing water. Because this property had been used previously for growing taro, we've had to adapt the terracing accordingly. We've also removed some of the larger banana trees to open the field. The larger Alabizia tree you see in the left foreground--an invasive species, will also need to be removed for safety purposes. Meatime, the cacao seedlings are currently being cultivated in a greenhouse as we prep the field to plant them sometime later this Spring. Stay tuned! Update: Mother Nature assisted in felling the Albizia tree for us in the freaky wind storm mid-Feb!
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