Issue Position: Rural Revitalization or Rural Renaissance

Issue Position

The rural revitalization plan is quite simple: it empowers the use of farm land for multiple purposes to keep the farm vital and flourishing:

Housing

We have a marked housing shortage in Hawaii. We have many small farms that are struggling and many small farms that have remained completely undeveloped because of the expense of developing small farms and the limited expected income.

Allowing additional housing besides a single family home allows for increased housing, increased income, increased security and facilitates an on farm labor force.

Increased Housing

In addition to a main farm home housing could be provided for the following, although additional uses could clearly be added:

1. Workforce housing

a. By providing housing for the workforce on the farm the workforce is present and does not need to commute. In addition the workforce can potentially grow some of their food on the farm

2. Agritourism housing

a. Agritourism is in its infancy on the Big Island. In a country such as Ireland there are thousands of farm stay units as well as bed and breakfasts. Allowing additional units for farm stays could allow visitors to actually live and participate in life on the farm e.g. they could come during coffee picking season and pick and process their own coffee.

i. B and B operations are great home businesses that allow the farmer to both have an additional money making business but to have this business right on the farm.

ii. It makes sense to be able to provide not just breakfast but other meals on the farm for those staying in a B and B or Farm Stay units or merely driving by. Allowing small restaurants on farms is the ultimate value added way to process food produced on the farm. While there are provisions for "Inns" the limitations of those provisions make implementation difficult.

3. Elderly Housing

a. The elderly often wish to downsize and sell their big expensive home which might be located on the mainland or elsewhere or simply want to live in Hawaii during the winter months if they come from a state such as Minnesota. Instead of living in a condo on Alii Drive many elderly might prefer to live in a farm environment where they can enjoy the animals, the plants, and the opportunity to grow some of their own food. These elderly might live on the farm full time or part-time and could potentially be part of the work-force of the farm. They could also help run farm based agri-tourism activities such as farm fruit and vegetable stands or the above mentioned small-farm restaurants.

b. The presence of these elderly residents could provide security for the agricultural areas when the farm-owners were off the farm e.g when the farm-owners were on vacation or travelling elsewhere.

c. As they aged, these elderly individuals might prefer to take their meals at the on-farm restaurant if that were available.

4. Young Farmer -- Kupuna Farmer programs:

a. One of the problems for young farmers is finding a farm they can afford. If older farmers could age-in-place i.e. stay on the farm and live in a separate dwelling, the older farmer could help teach the younger farmer how to farm and over time sell the farm to the younger farmer while still living on the farm as long as they were physically able to.

5. Housing for young families:

a. Young families, especially poorer families, can often not afford to buy housing and have to rent. The rental market for homes is expensive so many of these families may have to live in apartments located in towns or city environments. Allowing additional housing units on the farm could provide housing for those families who want to raise their children in a farm environment but could not afford to buy a farm. These young families could potentially contribute to the work-force part-time e.g. on weekends and contribute to the farm's security.

6. Child care:

a. Child care businesses could provide income for the farmer or farm residents while providing care for children from the surrounding farms e.g for farmers who have jobs off of their farms.

7. Care homes:

a. With the onslaught of the "grey tsunamai" there will be great numbers of elderly who may need a care home environment. Many of these elderly might prefer to reside in a care home in a rural or farm environment rather than a neighborhood. Again this provides on-farm income opportunities and farm produce could be used in the feeding of these care-home residents.

8. Housing for the Homeless:

a. The homeless often have some mental challenges and are often disabled from working in a stressful city environment where drugs and alcohol are too readily available. A program to provide very simple farm based housing, not as a homeless encampment but as part of a "little farm village" could be very healing and rehabilitative. Telemedicine could provide counseling or other services to help this process.

Increased Farm Based Businesses:

Having agricultural or non-agricultural businesses on the farm or on farmland increases the utility and decreases the overall cost of owning the farm by potentially increasing the revenue stream and allowing the farmer or his farm residents to work ON the farm increasing the security of the farm and its agricultural products and providing a "farm community" -- every farm a village or perhaps a mini-Ahupua'a.

Small Farm Based Food Production and Value-Added Products:

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