Taofe Farm
Perched above the Kona coast in Hōlualoa, Taofe Farm is a thriving agroforestry farm rooted in restoration, stewardship, and community resilience. What began as an abandoned property has, over the past five years, been transformed by farmer and cooperative leader Russell J. Clark into a flourishing multi-layered farm abundant with ʻulu, macadamia nuts, coffee, citrus, banana, papaya, jackfruit, and more.
Russell’s relationship with plants and cultivation began early. Growing up in Downey, California, he spent his childhood working alongside his uncle at Jim Clark’s Nursery, where he developed a fascination with horticulture and exotic plants. Years later, after stewarding acreage in California and eventually relocating to Hawaiʻi Island, he found himself called once again toward farming, this time in Kona’s upland coffee belt.
“When we first saw the property, it was abandoned,” Russell recalls. “People told us to knock the old structures down and start over. But that’s not the way I roll.”
Instead, Russell and his wife Melissa carefully restored the original farm structures by hand, preserving old ʻōhiʻa posts and slowly bringing the land back into production. Today, Taofe Farm embodies the principles of agroforestry, with crops layered vertically to mimic natural ecosystems: coffee thriving beneath macadamia and fruit tree canopies, while ʻulu trees steadily mature throughout the property.
“The world feels unpredictable sometimes,” Russell says. “But one thing I know for certain is that the food production of this farm will continue to increase. We’ll always have food to share.”
That long-view philosophy is reflected in the dozens of ʻulu trees Russell has planted for future generations, many of which may not reach their full production peak for years to come. It is also reflected in his deep involvement with our co-op, which he joined early in his ownership of the farm after recognizing the importance of reviving canoe crops and supporting local farmers through cooperative systems.
As both a co-op board member and longtime business professional, Russell has become a passionate advocate for Hawaiʻi agriculture far beyond his own farm gates. In response to the collapse of Hawaiʻi’s small-scale macadamia nut purchasing infrastructure in recent years, he worked alongside fellow farmers to create independent local processing capacity for small growers. Together, they built a grassroots aggregation and processing hub capable of husking, cracking, drying, sorting, and packaging locally grown macadamia nuts, giving small farmers a pathway to market once again.
“We’re not here to elbow each other out of the way,” Russell says. “We lock arms and say, ‘Come on, let’s do this together.’”
That spirit of collaboration has extended beyond Hawaiʻi. Inspired by the work of our co-op, Russell helped support the creation of a new farmer cooperative in Tahiti focused on processing and utilizing ʻuru (breadfruit) for local school food systems. The project now operates from a government-supported processing facility that creates jobs and expands access to locally grown staple foods.
For Russell, these efforts all connect back to the same core belief: resilient local food systems matter.
Whether restoring an abandoned farm, planting trees for future generations, or helping fellow farmers build infrastructure together, his work reflects a deep commitment to abundance, stewardship, and the power of community-rooted agriculture.
