KAUMAKANI — There were gasps of awe among the busload of guests on Friday when the landscape turned from the brown and red dirt to yellow in the fields of Gay and Robinson.
Friday marked Day 82 of the 100-day cycle for sunflowers that were sowed on Earth Day, and to celebrate, Pacific Biodiesel hosted an agricultural tour to celebrate the first bloom on Kaua‘i.
Sunflowers, and “other high oil yield” crops are one part of the Bob and Kelly King, principals of Pacific Biodiesel, equation of producing biodiesel — regenerative agriculture.
Guests on the agricultural tour included officials from the different levels of the Department of Education, including newly-arrived teachers from the Philippines, the Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative and guest chefs, who created recipes and product using the sunflower oil that is marketed by MaidenHawaiiNaturals.com.
Government officials, such as Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami, were treated to a similar agricultural tour on Thursday. An agricultural tour was taken by Sen. Mazie Hirono shortly before the blessing and planting in Kaumakani.
Squeals of delight and joy accompanied the numerous smart phones that recorded the visit, where according to Pacific Biodiesel professionals, there were up to 2.5 million blooms in the 100 acres that were blessed and planted on Earth Day.
The target date demonstrated the results of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics-based (STEM) abilities by Pacific Biodiesel. The STEM-based work includes future forecasting of the crop for maximum yield, as well as cultivation techniques utilizing GPS.
Sunflower oil represents the value added component of agriculture where a portion of the harvest is set aside for the production of sunflower oil before the oil is shipped to a production facility that is located on the Big Island.
These various components form the circular economy model for Hawai‘i.
Pacific Biodiesel started on Maui where they continue to grow sunflowers. The biodiesel production plant has been relocated to the Big Island, and the original machinery repurposed to accommodate the cleaning of used cooking oil from the various restaurants and eateries.
Kaua‘i has been selected for sustainable agriculture. The existing biodiesel facility, adjacent to the Kaua‘i Habitat for Humanity, has been contracted to ship used cooking oil to the preproduction cleaning facility.
As celebrants enjoyed samples of sunflower oil and sunflower oil-embellished samples, they look forward to the next sunflower milestone — the first harvest.
