Sample Business Plan

B.BUSINESS DESCRIPTION – AN ORGANIC OPPORTUNITY

1.Introduction

In September 2003, youth from a leadership training program commenced selling organically grown products at farmer’s markets located at the Wai`anae Comprehensive Health Center and Kaiser Permanente Health Clinic, in Nanakuli, both located on the Westside of the island of O`ahu, Hawai`i. The goal: to get healthy organic fruits and vegetables, sold at a fair price, into the regular food purchases of the low-income community. The youth exceeded all expectations – products sold quickly, customers returned each week for more, and now a group of young people are poised to build on these test markets to become the largest producer of USDA certified organic fruits and vegetables on the island of O`ahu.

2.Product

The Wai`anae Community Re-Development Corporation (WCRC), a Hawai`i non-profit 501(c)3 corporation, proposes the development of the MA`O Youth Organic Farm (MA`O), a venture managed by out-of-school youth from the Wai`anae community. MA`O will cultivate a diversity of field crops and fruit trees, using organic methods certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Organic Program’s rules, on 5-acres of land currently leased by WCRC.

The objectives of MA`O will be to:

• 
  Increase production of organic fruits and vegetables to a total of 5-acres, with each acre developed to gross at least $50,000 by the end of 2007;
  
• 
  Distribute at least 50% of product into the Wai`anae community through community farmer’s markets;
  
• 
  Provide employment with profit-incentives to three youth at start-up with two youth added by Year 2;
  
• 
  Work collaboratively with University of Hawai`i’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) and Leeward Community College (LCC) to increase research and advanced training in organic agriculture production;
  
• 
  Work collaboratively with WCRC’s other programs to cultivate new organic farmers; and
  
• 
  Restore idle land to productive uses, and reawaken the Hawaiian connection to agriculture.
  

3.Groundwork for the Venture

In 2001, WCRC established the Mala `Ai `Opio (MA’O) Community Food Security Initiative. This initiative was developed in order to create a community food system, fight hunger, improve nutrition, strengthen local agriculture and empower local families to move towards self-sufficiency. In the Hawaiian language mala `ai `opio means the “youth food garden” and ma`o is also the Hawaiian name of the endemic Wai`anae cotton plant. WCRC established a series of interconnected activities with youth leadership development as a core objective and the MA`O farm site was established as the primary training venue. These activities now support the long-term competitive advantage of MA`O, and are described as follows:

ACTIVITY	HIGHLIGHTS
Youth Leadership Training (YLT). The YLT is a 10-month long, 18-hours per week, leadership training for low-income, out-of-school, Wai`anae youth, providing them with a paid educational, entrepreneurial, and agricultural work experience.	This is the recruitment and training mechanism for MA`O Farm, and provides a regular labor source for farm operations.
Aloha `Aina Café and Natural Foods was opened in April 2003, specializes in healthy breakfasts and lunches using locally-grown products.	The café will be a customer, a farmer’s market site and a showcase for MA`O products. As a commercial kitchen, the café provides for the possibility of value-added product development opportunities.
Local Community Farmer’s Markets. Four farmer’s markets have been established at the Aloha `Aina Café, Wai`anae Comprehensive Health Center, Kaiser Permanente Health Clinic, and Leeward Community College (LCC).	Farmer’s markets have tested and proven demand. The local customer base has been introduced to the “organic” concept and the “MA`O” product. Clinic markets support the WCRC mission.
‘Ai Pohaku Workshop, hands-on, culturally-based learning activities at Wai`anae Intermediate School (WIS) and Wai`anae High School (WHS), that mix traditional Hawaiian taro cultivation with edible, organic school gardens.	The gardens illustrate the skill-set and experience already developed in the youth that will lead MA`O and provide “fertile ground” for youth training and recruitment.
The Wai`anae Organic Agriculture Center, in partnership with Leeward Community College (LCC), expands research and training activities in Wai`anae.	The partnership was awarded a U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development grant of $579,000 to purchase 2.5 acres of WCRC’s leased land, and to build an improved post-harvest packing and chilling facility which will increase MA`O’s production handling capacity.

4.Crops to be Grown

Over the past three years, WCRC has developed farm operations on 2.5-acres as an integral training component of the Youth Leadership Training. This commenced with the planting of fruits trees and bananas and the organic conditioning of soils for field crops. Thereafter, approximately 30 field crop varieties were grown and sold, with information gathered on: (a) Best seed varieties; (b) Hardiness of crop to local conditions; (c) Reaction of crop to organic methods of production; and (d) Marketability. Product was sold to Kokua Natural Foods Cooperative, a cooperatively-owned grocery store specializing in organic foods located near the main campus of the University of Hawai`i. Kokua has a customer base of educated professionals, vegetarians, and people generally adept at cooking. This experience gave WCRC product feedback, as well as information on the demand for, and lack of supply of, locally-grown, organic fruits and vegetables. Through the development of this venture, MA`O will assume overall responsibility for farm operations of the already developed 2.5-acres, and in May 2005 will begin preparation and cultivation of an additional 2.5-acres. Hawai`i has a 12-month growing season and crops to be grown include:

Cilantro Daikon Pak choy (bok choi) Romaine lettuce Various lettuces, arugula, kale, chard, beets and Asian greens (tat soi, mustard greens, mizuna) combined to produce two different salad mixes	This will be our “regular rotation (short)” planted every 14-days, ready to harvest from day-28 through to day-45, with crops completed in 50-days.
Beets Carrots Fennel Green onion	This will be our “regular rotation (long)” planted every 28-days, ready to harvest from day-70 through to day-100, with crops completed in 105-days.
Basil Collard greens Eggplant (Japanese and Italian) Kale (Red Russian, blue curly, lacinato) Parsley (curly and flat-leaf) Swiss chard Taro	This will be our “perennial rotation” planted every 3-months, ready to harvest in 80-days, with crops completed in 5-6 months.
Lemon (Meyer variety) Mango (Haden and Kiett varieties) Orange (various Washington naval varieties) Tangerine (Clementine and Fremont varieties)	Trees will be planted as an income-generators with first harvest being in year 3, and as a wind break on the windward areas of the farm.