Your Guide
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Hana Rodrigues
Third-generation Kula farmer whose family has worked the upcountry slopes since the plantation era. Grows lavender, strawberries, and heritage vegetables for Maui restaurants. Partners with Chef Kaleo Akana, who trained on the mainland and returned to cook with Kula produce exclusively.

Maui's upcountry at 4,000 feet is a completely different island. Cool mornings, volcanic soil, rows of lavender and Kula strawberries stretching toward Haleakalā. Hana's family has farmed this land since her grandfather arrived from Portugal during the plantation era — the crops have changed but the terracing he built by hand is still here. She leads you through the fields, explains the growing conditions, lets you pick what's ready. Then Chef Kaleo arrives and cooks the harvest into a long-table lunch on the farm, paired with wine from MauiWine — the only winery operating above 4,000 feet in the United States.

What Your Day Looks Like

A sample itinerary

Morning (9am)
Arrive at the Rodrigues farm in Kula. Hana walks you through the lavender rows — she explains the variety selection, the drying process, the lavender products she sells to resorts. Then the strawberry beds, then the kitchen garden: heritage tomatoes, Okinawan sweet potatoes, edible flowers, herbs. You pick what's going into lunch.
Mid-morning (10:30am)
Chef Kaleo arrives and begins cooking in the farm's outdoor kitchen while you watch. He narrates every decision: why he combines these flavors, what he learned about this produce from working with Hana for seven years, why he left a restaurant in San Francisco to cook with soil this good. You're not watching a demonstration — you're watching someone work.
Midday (12–2pm)
Long-table lunch on the farm under the shade of a cypress tree. The menu is entirely from what you picked and what the farm had this week. MauiWine pours three single-estate bottles — the pineapple wine if you want to understand why it works, the Syrah if you want to argue about terroir at 4,000 feet. Hana and Kaleo eat with you. A proper conversation follows.
What's Included

Everything is handled

✓ Private farm tour with Hana Rodrigues
✓ Chef-led cooking demonstration (outdoor kitchen)
✓ Long-table farm lunch (full menu, family-prepared)
✓ MauiWine pairing (3 pours)
✓ Lavender and farm products to take home
✓ Transportation from Lahaina or Kaanapali
Best For
◆ Food and wine enthusiasts
◆ Families with curious kids (fantastic for children)
◆ Anyone interested in sustainable agriculture
◆ Couples seeking a relaxed, intimate day