2022 -2023 Participating Schools
Castle High School (Natural Resources)
We are part of the Ho’oulu Opio Agriculture Program at James B.Castle High School and our focus is on sustainable farming practices. Our product’s ingredients are 100% sourced from our farm, grown right here on campus. YEP has given us a taste of entrepreneurship, everything from the marketing aspect to creating the product ourselves. The YEP has also given us the opportunity to have our business class collaborate with our program.
Ewa Makai Middle School (Entrepreneurship)
Ewa Makai Middle School is a diverse school with over 1270 students. As part of our CTE - Career Pathways class, we learn about entrepreneurship including how to develop a product to make/sell while working as a team. We learned that communicating and helping each other is vital for success. We want to have people enjoy our items that represent our island home. These handmade gifts for sharing Hawaii spirit with family and friends will all include a story, inspiration, or Hawaiian meaning.
Ka'u High and Pahala Elementary
Ka'u High & Pahala Elementary School is a small, rural, K-12 school, founded in 1881. It is located in the southern district of Ka'u in the town of Pahala on the island of Hawai’i. With deep roots in Hawaiian culture, we cherish the land and the community very much. KHPES formally began the Entrepreneurship Academy to encourage students to pursue their interests in academics and careers. Part of that encouragement includes providing opportunities for students to develop and market and agriculture related products. The YEP program has helped and motivated students to leave an impact on the community with their products.
Kahuku High and Intermediate School
At Kahuku High and Intermediate School, our students come from a collection of small, rural towns. Agriculture is a large part of our lives and surroundings. YEP has allowed the students to bring to life ideas and solutions by providing students with necessary financial and professional resources. YEP has also provided the framework that has taught our students the skills necessary to bring a product to market and build a successful business.
Kailua Intermediate School
Under the guidance and supervision of the school’s Farm to Fork and Introduction to Agriculture teacher, students learn how to run their own businesses and make their own products. They also gain business etiquette and management skills. This year, students went through the process of creating vermicast tea and can use this knowledge when they are adults to grow their own food and contribute to helping their local community.
Kaimuki Middle School
With all the work we are doing on our campus garden, we initially failed to notice a great opportunity in front of us. While we worked hard to maintain and grow our Kaimuki Middle School Garden with fruits and vegetables, Butterfly Pea was growing abundantly. We had our first harvest in the fall of 2022. With the help of YEP, a small but mighty group of middle school students are ready to take a unique and refreshing product to you all - and its grown right here in the heart of Kaimuki.
Kalakaua Middle School
Kalakaua Middle School Agrilculture Program wants to address food security in our community and the State of Hawai'i. Food security is defined as: people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. We learned about the rich history of agrculture in Hawai'i and the importance of "Aloha "Aina" with the story of Haloa and the importance of Kalo for the Kanaka Maoli. Kalakaua Middle School Agriculture Product wants to share Kalo and its many benefits to the State of Hawaii while at the same time enjoying healthy fresh Kalo that is locally sourced. Our product for YEP contributes to sustainability and subsistence farming.
Kauai High School (Natural Resources)
Lau 'ai ke Ola is made up of about 75 high school students in grades 9-12, as well as Future Farmers of America Club members. Lau 'ai ke Ola gives our Kauai High School students real business knowledge in cash crop and value-added products through production, sales and marketing while serving to make our island sustainable both now and in the future.
Kealakehe HS
Kealakehe HS Agriculture and Natural Resources (AFNR) program started in 2001 after the initial opening of the school in 1997. In this program, students are instilled with the importance of malama aina. They work on various projects in our farm lab which include: aquaponics, ag-related construction/woodworking projects, plant propagation (native, vegetable and ornamental), and agroforestry in our garden areas. Our program prepares students for careers in the Ag Food and Natural Resources job market.
Konawaena High School
Kalakoa Ink is a group of 5 Advertising Art students that make tie-dyed clothing inspired by the plants surrounding our walk of life. Our dyes are naturally sourced from plants grown here in Hawai’i. Normal inks contain toxic chemicals and are petroleum based, but we source our dyes from natural plants. We hope to create a trend as well as a positive impact within our local community.
Olomana School
We are Olomana Tech Ed, which is part of Olomana School. Our program services the population at the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility. At Olomana Tech Ed, we value (1) Knowledge and skills that help our students become valuable workers, (2) Humility to learn and change, (3) Projects that are engaging and profitable, and (4) Finding our purpose. Our woods is grown locally and then dried here on campus. We then handcraft each one to bring out the natural beauty of each piece of wood.
Waiakea High School
Waiakea High School is an Academy school that places students in academies based on their career interests. The students of “Waiakea Candles” are a part of the Public Service and Freshman Academy. The students heard about the opportunity to create their own business from their Agriculture teacher and were very excited to participate. Their focus was to find a product in which the main components would be locally sourced. The team then decided on beeswax candles based on how popular they noticed candles were and that the product is enjoyed by a wide variety of consumers. With little background knowledge of running a business, YEP has challenged and provided lifelong skills that will continue to positively impact the students of “Waiakea Candles”.
Waipahu High School
Waipahu High School's Academy of Natural Resources (ANR) prepares all students to become environmentally conscious citizens who practice good environmental stewardship throughout their lifetime and actively contribute to a sustainable world. Waipahu ANR students have enjoyed participating in the Young Entrepreneurs Program over the past 6 years creating products such as healing skin salve, sea salt seasoning, chili pepper water, and mamaki tea. Our students are excited to bring to fruition our naturally dyed tie-dye bags in culmination of our learning about local agriculture and waste reduction. We hope that our tie-dye designs remind us all to choose nonviolence towards our 'aina today and everyday.