Selling plants raised indoors in Hawaii historically has been the domain of marijuana growers. Kerry Kakazu, however, believes this type of commercial farming is ripe for a more mainstream and legal local debut.
Kakazu is attempting to launch what he believes is the first indoor vegetable production company in the state — a plant factory, if you will, using no sun or soil.
The former Chaminade University biology professor with a doctorate degree in plant physiology is converting office space in an old building above a key shop in Kakaako into MetroGrow Hawaii.
Inside the roughly 850-square-foot space, Kakazu has set up modular shelving on which sit duffle bag-size plastic tubs into which hang the roots of lettuce, microgreens and other produce growing atop the tub covers.
Above the plants, LED lights shine brightly 20 hours a day. In the bottom of every tub is a miniature sprinkler system that automatically dispenses a fine nutrient-infused mist for five seconds every five minutes to keep the roots moist.
This agricultural setup where plant roots hang in the air is called aeroponics, which differs from hydroponics, where plant roots sit in water.
"I’m excited about the innovative nature of this," Kakazu said. "It’s another option for growing food in Hawaii."
Compared with traditional farming, MetroGrow’s plants grow faster, use around 90 percent less water and are insulated from flooding, weeds and pests. The environment also can be tailored to raise cold-weather crops.
On the other hand, office space costs more than a dirt plot, while sunlight is free and electricity is expensive.
Kakazu calculates that he could produce 500 heads of lettuce every three weeks using all his vertical space. For now MetroGrow Hawaii is in a startup phase to test commercial production.
Besides lettuce and microgreens, which include just-sprouted cabbage and mustard family plants, Kakazu has experimented with ice plant and radishes. He also has considered growing the Asian herb shiso and Asian vegetables.
So far, Kakazu has attracted interest from Keith Endo, chef at Vino restaurant in Kakaako.
Selling directly to restaurants is Kakazu’s initial focus, though he imagines possibly selling at farmers markets later.
The Vino chef said he sampled some arugula microgreens and used Kakazu’s ice plant in a salad that turned out well. "He’s got some cool stuff," Endo said. "I’ve never seen anybody grow (ice plant) here."
Officials with the state Department of Agriculture said they don’t know of any commercial indoor aeroponic or hydroponic farms in Hawaii.
Outside Hawaii, indoor aeroponic or hydroponic farming appears to be a nascent business touted as having great potential to establish or expand farming in places with little arable soil and as a way to revitalize abandoned industrial neighborhoods.
One mainland company, FarmedHere LLC, started in 2010 with a 4,000-square-foot space in a suburban Chicago neighborhood and moved into a 90,000-square-foot vacant warehouse last year. The company, which grows lettuce greens, basil, mint and baby arugula and kale, is described as the largest vertical farm in the United States.
Another firm, Houston-based Indoor Harvest Corp., announced plans in February to build an $850,000 demonstration farm in a 10,000-square-foot warehouse.
Indoor Harvest is a development-stage company focused on designing, building and selling aeroponic farm systems that lower what it describes as significant entry barriers for entrepreneurs.
"We believe that currently the cost to successfully launch such a business can be … prohibitive due to the amount of research and development required," the company said in a statement announcing its demonstration farm plan.
Indoor Harvest’s test farm will initially focus on research and development to establish best practices, and then later serve as a demonstration facility for company products and services.
More research-level indoor aeroponics is going on at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where an "anti-disciplinary" group of plant scientists, engineers, architects, urban planners and economists set up CityFARM to explore and develop what it calls "high performance" urban agricultural systems that can create urban jobs, reduce environmental degradation and supply produce close to consumers.
"The future of global food production will mandate a paradigm shift from traditional practice to resource-leveraged and environmentally optimized urban food growing solutions," CityFARM says on its website.
Kakazu, who had grown his own aeroponic vegetables at home as a hobby, said he became interested in the venture as a business after the issue of local production, security and sustainability of food in Hawaii gained public awareness.
"All those things seemed to be on the upswing," he said.
At the same time, technological advances and falling prices for LED lights made the economics of commercial indoor aeroponics seem favorable.
Kakazu rented the Kakaako office space about a year ago, and left an administrative job at the University of Hawaii Cancer Research Center in January to try to take MetroGrow from a setup phase to commercial production.
Kakazu said he started the company using his savings, and is looking for grants to help support the venture, for which he would need investment capital to expand.
"I’m not sure exactly if I can be competitive," he said. "We’ll see if it’s viable."
