Only three years old and already remarkably productive, Papaikou Paradise is Erik's own home project, a living testing ground and botanical repository on the Hamakua Coast. What started as an overgrown half-acre is now a thriving edible landscape with fruit trees, kalo, edible greens, cassava, sugar cane, and over 50 more species of edible, native, and medicinal plants.
What makes this project stand out is how little it asks for. The whole system takes less than one day a month to maintain, and most of that time is spent harvesting, not working. That's the payoff of designing with natural systems instead of fighting them. Ice cream bean and other support species build soil, fix nitrogen, and provide mulch, so the whole thing largely takes care of itself.
Project Highlights
- Over 50 species of edible, native, and medicinal plants
- Productive within the first three years
- Less than one day per month of maintenance
- Self-sustaining through use of support species like ice cream bean
- Serves as a testing ground and botanical repository
- A huge amount of food for very little time or money put in
Before & After
