Richard Ha

Richard Ha, author of What Would Our Kupuna Do? and what we can do for future generations, advocates for making Hawai‘i Island a better, more sustainable place for our grandchildren and their grandchildren so they don’t have to leave these islands to provide for their families.

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Richard is a founding board member of PUEO (Perpetuating Unique Educational Opportunities), a non-profit dedicated to enhancing the educational opportunities of Hawai‘is youth and their communities. He also created the Adopt-a-Class program at Keaukaha Elementary School. That program took every class to ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center annually and was since expanded and sponsored by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to include every school on the island. 

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For 35 years, Richard owned and operated Hamakua Springs Country Farms, a 600-acre, fee-simple, diversified agriculture operation in Pepe‘ekeo, Hawai‘i. He was an advocate of sustainable farming for the benefit of the farm’s employees, community and environment. His farm was the first banana company in the world awarded the ECO-OK award by the Rainforest Alliance for sustainable banana farming operations, and was a national finalist for the Patrick Madden Sustainable Farming award. 

 

Richard has been a member of the State Board of Agriculture and the Hawai‘i Island Economic Development Board. He has been inducted into the Shidler College of Business Hall of Honor and named Farmer of the Year by the State of Hawai‘i. He has also been honored as a University of Hawai‘i distinguished graduate.