The Love Story That Birthed Ahiki Acres

In honor of Valentine’s Day this past week I thought I’d share the love story behind Ahiki Acres. The first time I saw Matt was in the Fall of 2018, when we started the GoFarm Hawaii beginner farmer training program. I joined the program by myself while Matt joined the program with his sister, Christy. We were both dating other people at the time and were not romantically attracted to each other. As time went on in the program our cohort of students grew close and we all became friends. Matt and I independently ended our relationships and, about six months later, in the early spring of 2019 I started having a crush on Matt because he was silly, smart, and an incredibly hard worker. It was like a scene from a high school drama where I told Christy about the crush and she, along with our friend JJ, tried meddling to set us up. One day Christy told Matt I thought “he was cute” and he dropped to the floor laughing because he thought it was a joke. Shortly after we started dating and instantly fell in love.

Fast forward to June 2019, only 3 months of dating, and we decide to birth Ahiki Acres. Before Matt, I enjoyed my alone time so the thought of working and living together felt impossible. I was also nervous to start a business with someone I’d only known for such a short time. But, I was madly in love, deep in the honeymoon phase, and confident I would spend the rest of my life with Matt, so anything was possible. We took the leap and here we are almost 4 years later.

How did we get here? Matt and I make a magnificent team and that is truly what has kept us afloat. Matt is the most brilliant human I have ever met. Something breaks at the farm and BAM! Matt has it fixed. An irrigation line blows and BAM! Matt has it fixed. We need a new wash station at the farm and BAM! Matt builds it. I have a nervous breakdown and BAM! Matt patiently loves me. People often ask the secret behind our success and while there are certain techniques or processes that help us to succeed, I believe our partnership is the secret weapon.

Running a business with your romantic partner is not easy. In fact, it is something we will be working on for the rest of our lives. Ahiki Acres has become “our baby” and for me, I often feel that the lines are blurred between work and life. I started realizing my addiction to the farm was hurting my relationship with Matt. To reconnect and reground ourselves we will be going to Japan at the end of the month and the farm will be closed for 10 days, the longest we’ve ever been away from the farm!

On New Years’ Eve I proposed to Matt while we were trellising tomatoes, Matt’s favorite farm activity. After a passionate “Yes!” we hugged and continued working on the tomatoes, lol. People ask whether I feel different now that we are engaged and while things feel the same, I enjoy sharing the news. I used to be indifferent on the idea of marriage but after deep contemplation and reflection I realized being married to Matt is what I want for myself so I went for it…BAM! We are engaged.