Beyond the harvest civic agriculture and mission-based farming in Hawaiʻi

Abstract

Hawaiʻi’s agricultural landscape, shaped by colonial history and structural challenges, provides a critical lens for examining alternative agrarian systems. Unconventional and mission-based farms are seen in this study using agriculture to promote social change, community engagement, education, cultural preservation, and alternative rural lifestyles.This thesis examines how mission-based and unconventional farms in Hawaiʻi pursue these objectives and exist within diverse economic activities. Drawing on diverse economies theory and civic agriculture, it uses a content analysis of 120 WWOOF host profiles and nine farm websites on Oʻahu to explore farm missions, participation in civic agriculture, reliance on unpaid labor, and non-farming activities. Farms in this research expressed characteristics of civic agriculture through locally embedded practices of agriculture, social justice, community engagement, sustainable land practices, and organic food production. While previous literature has examined WWOOF participation, new farmer motivations, and non-economic drivers of small farm regeneration, this study includes a focus on mission-based farms that use different forms of unpaid labor. This research contributes to a fuller understanding of how farms use agriculture to fulfill their missions and how they organize differently around unpaid labor, civic agriculture and non-farming activities. The study’s primary contribution is the identification of two distinct forms of mission-based farms: biocultural farms, which operate as non-profits emphasizing Hawaiian culture, and local participation; and alternative farms, that emphasize wellness and art and rely on local and global volunteers for labor. Both models exemplify non-conventional agricultural practices, operate within diverse economies, and highlight the intangible benefits and values of agriculture. Keywords: Agro-voluntourism, Hawaiʻi, Civic Agriculture, Diverse Economies, Mission-Based Farms, Organic Farming, Volunteerism, WWOOF