About Us
Who is Pahale Farms
About Us is really about so many of Us. Like so many, our family’s cast of colorful characters truly spanned the good, the bad, and the ugly. I believe this beginning is why we are here now and working so hard to make Pahale Farms a dream come true on the Big Island of Hawaii.
It has never been easy . . .
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Who Is Pahale Farms?
Pahale Farms is a small local family farm, consisting of a Brother (Thor) and Sister/Beekeeper (Donelle) and their Spouses (Jan and Dan). Thor and Donelle’s summers were spent in La Mision, Baja California, Mexico at their grandparents. Back then it was country, full of local friends, cousins, animals, the ocean and two incredible grandparents that made every day an adventure. After their passing, Donelle spent summers and vacations traveling to Maui, Oahu and Kauai, planting that same seed from their childhood and fostering a connection to the Hawaiian islands. It took some time but by 2008 they purchased the land that would become Pahale Farms.
In 2013, the dream came true and Pahale Farms became an off-grid farm located on the slopes of Mauna Kea in Papaaloa, Hawaii above the Hamakua Coast relying solely on sunshine and rain. They cultivated and nurtured 2 acres of coffee trees, which ultimately became one of the preferred coffees for their customers on and off the Island. Unfortunately, in 2021, nine years later they lost their crop to “coffee leaf rust”.
They now focus their efforts on producing Kiawe Honey, which is a true gift from nature. It is like no other honey in the world making it unique. The very rare white honey has a creamy smooth texture with a lightly sweet flavor retaining all the benefits of pure raw honey.
"Its all about achieving a standard that will only compromise to what Mother Nature presses upon us...She is who we listen to."
Learn more About our beekeeper
- Donelle Rodriguez -
Donelle was raised in southern California, during her youth she would go down to Baja California, Mexico and visit her grandmother’s very rural home in La Mision. Her grandparents lived without electricity and utilized a pila for water storage. She spent a lot of time on their neighbor’s farms building relationships with animals. This was a happy chapter in her life and one she sought to rebuild as an adult. It was Donelle’s dream to live off- grid, make a living from the land and to find peace and joy in this simpler lifestyle. Growing up in Orange County, she was living in one of the richest parts of the country, but she was happiest four hours away in one of the poorest parts of the world. Working in the Bay Area, all her professional jobs were steppingstones to living and working in the country. Spending time in Hawaii during her youth, she always knew this was the place she was destined to be. Working on a farm, where she is fully content, complete, and joyous.
After moving to Hawaii in 2006, she apprenticed for a world-renowned honey company that was producing a highly specialized Kiawe White Honey. A year and a half later she and her husband purchased 16 acres with very modest living conditions and basic off the grid utilities…and the rest is history and herstory.