Everything Sara says below is spot on. It's a real shame Tom wrote that about the boss because it's not fair to the guys who run the place (and he fails to mention that he was there for months). We were only able to stay two weeks, and it was our first time volunteering with an organisation like this but everyone was awesome, helpful, intelligent and friendly. There was a resident wwoofer who had been there for some time and he was really helpful as a contact between us and the boss. What Sara says about cars is true too, it's kind of tricky getting away at the weekends but Albert and Jaycen are generous with giving rides. They do expect you to work hard, but if you do you will be rewarded with all sorts of adventures. We were really well looked after, the place is beautiful and as long as you don't mind putting in the effort you will have a brilliant experience on this farm.

HKCC is the bomb!!! I came here after having an unpleasant experience at another farm and stayed 4.5 months! Pros: -Diverse crops and animals. While your primary work is with coffee and the vegi garden, you'll have the opportunity to enjoy the cows, sheep, ducks, geese, chickens, apple bananas, citrus, cacao, breadfruit, and probably a bunch of wild pig and fish that folks catch on the farm. Which leads me to... -The people!!! This farm consists of a community of rad, friendly people--the owners (who live on another property), the millers, roasters, farm workers and work-exchangers like you. Unlike a lot of farms where you're sort of isolated and/or only hang out with 1960s back-to-the-landers with a very peculiar perspective on Hawaii and Hawaiians, the folks on this farm are diverse and fun. You might be cleaning sea urchin and helping to skin a pig for an imu one night, and picking mangoes for some sort of mad-scientist homemade ethanol another. I learned so much more than farming at this spot. -The land. About 20 acres of crops out of 280 acres of virgin land going all the way up Hualalai mountain (sp?). The adjacent property used to be the King's gardens. Where are you gonna find something like this just 15 minutes outside of town? I would take walks and just pinch myself. Not to mention that if you're lucky, you might get to spend a couple days working/camping at the owners other beachfront property. Clean up some palm fronds for a view of Captain Cook monument, anyone? -The setup/structure. When I was there, we built 2 little shacks for sleeping to go along with the already stellar kitchen/bathroom/shower structure that the workers share. Oh, the luxury. Food is from costco, generally, and stuff grown on the farm. You eat real well here. I made a lot of friends at other farms who just got food from the farm (which might not have been much) or very basic staples, and tents in the rain aren't too fun; this is the sweetest setup I saw on the Big Island. The workday is very structured, usually from 7:30-4, with about an hour total of lunch/breaks, four days a week. By the time weekend comes, you're ready, and by the time it's over, you're ready to begin work again. Cons: -There's a lot of coffee land, and as the main crop, we sometimes worked on one field for an entire week, weeding, pulling shoots, whatever. Compared to a really small farm where you'd be doing a lot of small tasks, it can seem repetitive. I hear they're breaking up the days more now, which will be nice. Having experienced a small farm that wasn't great in other ways, I was happy to do the weeding squats day after day. You get pretty buff. -Bus system sucks. Ya, this farm isn't on the main bus line, so you gotta hitch. Do it with friends, or make friends with cars. -Not bikini hot and not beach. Some people expect all of Hawaii to be this. I personally liked being up at 2,000' elevation b/c it's cooler when you're working. Think gorillas in the mist. You can still see the ocean (when there's no vog, volcanic fog) and it's only like 15 by car, and I went to the beach to swim or fish every week. -I noticed that having to communicate with folks that speak Pidgin English was frustrating for some volunteers. Just take it easy and be patient with yourself and others, and you'll develop an ear for it soon enough. Good luck!

The boss is a jerk. I left the farm after he accused me of breaking his weed eater. He threatened to kick me off the farm, accusing me of "sabotaging" his equipment. It was later discovered that the weed eater he gave me was broken in the first place.