Sumida Farm wes founded in 1928 by present owner's grandparents who immigrated from Hiroshima, Japan. They dreamed of starting their own business in America and did not want to work on the plantation. The grandparents were able to get a landlease from Kamehameha Schools for this land. They didn't know anything about farming, and they had to learn from the neighbors. Soon the farm was producing bananas, fruits, vegetables, and taro plants.
When the owner's dad David took the family farm in 1940's and decided to focus on growing watercrest, which was the most cash producing crop at the time. The family farm flourished and soon David Sumida became the state's top watercrest producer accounting for 70% of Hawai'i watercrest production.
The Pearlridge Center developer really wanted the land occupied by Sumida Farms for the construction of the shopping mall. The developer had powerful influence but David Sumida at the time has wielded significant influence as well. The case ended up in the court and has became a classic David-versus-Goliath tale of farmers against developers. David at that time was the first president of the Hawaii Farm Bureau, he had a fair number of politicians and businessmen friends willing to rally to his side. This incident resulted in the victory for Sumida Farms, and the shopping center was built around the farm which is protected for future generations.
Watercrest is harvested by hand and placed in bunches.
Majority of the workers are Philippino and have been working at the farm for decades.
Sumida Farms watercrest grows in the purest water straight from the Oahu aquafier. The field has allowed fragile water ecosystem to survive the rapid urbanization of Aiea.
Harvested watercrest is placed in the wheelbarrel.
Watercrest ready to be moved to the next station.
The watercrest is rinsed in clean water...
... and placed on paper ready to be packed.
The farm worker carefully prepares each watercrest for packing.
Watercrest is being wrapped in paper and read to be transported to the cooler.
Watercrest is transported to a huge cooler where it is rapidly chilled to preserve its freshness. This pallet of watercrest is ready to be taken to retailer. The sumida farm watercrest is available for purchase in the Waimanu and Pearl City Times Market.
