What started out as a gloomy Saturday morning with spurts of rain here and there, quickly grew hot, humid – and crowded, at the Kapiʻolani Community College Farmers’ Market, which runs weekly from 7 to 11 a.m.
What made this farmerʻs market stand out from other weekends was the addition of more than 20 vendors, all of which represented intermediate and high schoolers across the Islands selling their various made-in-Hawaiʻi products.
“Our students have worked so hard developing their businesses, and this is their moment to showcase their talent and innovation,” said Denise Yamaguchi, executive director of Hawai‘i Agricultural Foundation, which founded the Young Entrepreneurs Program, or YEP.
Moseying through the row of tents, there were adobo flavored taro chip and li hing mui dehydrated pineapple samples, as well as pickled cucumbers, purple lemonade and beauty products for purchase. Some products even sold out before 9 a.m., according to Baldwin High School teacher Joyce Miyamoto.
Miyamoto previously told Aloha State Daily that the money raised from product sales goes toward traveling expenses to come from Maui to KCC “and reimbursements on things we pay for throughout the program, like packaging and supplies costs."
"We use University of Hawaiʻi Maui College or a certified kitchen to mass produce our products," she told ASD last month. "In the high school lab, we do our testing and formulations. We learn business and entrepreneurial skills through YEP."
Thanks to teachers, sponsors and supporters, and the thousands of marketgoers, these young entrepreneurs gain real-world experience in product development, marketing and business operations for the purpose of preparing them to enter the workforce.
For more information and a full list of participating schools, click here.
Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros can be reached at kelsey@alohastatedaily.com.
