Honolulu-based Ulupono Initiative, a social impact investment firm founded by eBay founder, Pierre Omidyar, has announced an investment of an undisclosed amount into a hydroponic farming venture on Oahu.
The project, Hydroponics Alternatives Farms LLC, is still in its early stages, but the objective is to establish a farm that will increase local food production using land leased from the state.
“We continue to look at all investment options to help Hawaii be more self-sufficient and increase food security for the state,” expressed Amy Hennessey, spokeswoman for Ulupono Initiative.
Nancy Jones has been head of Hydroponics Alternatives since 2011, and is a lessee at the 150-acre Waianae Agricultural Park where she intends to construct greenhouses, showing that non-arable land that is primarily rock or even lava rock can be used to produce crops.