The Farm
Hawaiʻi Banana Source is a 35 acre USDA-Certified Organic farm on the North Shore of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi operated by me, Gabe Sachter-Smith. We specialize in bananas and maintain around 150 varieties at any given time, but focus on commercial fruit production of Apple, Namwah, Gros Michel, Saba and Iholena. In addition to growing fruit and maintaining varieties, we are also engaged in breeding our own speciality varieties via conventional cross pollination techniques.
Hi, I'm Gabe
Known across Oʻahu and the globe as one of the experts in bananas, I began growing bananas at the age of 14 in the mountains of Colorado. Seeking an environment better suited to the tropical fruit, I studied at the University of Hawaiʻi Manoa, where I earned a B.S. in Tropical Agriculture and Soil Science and an M.S. for my research in Banana bunchy top virus. When not growing bananas, I study them. I have participated in expeditions and projects around the globe - in China, Indonesia, Uganda, Rwanda, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Cook Islands, Samoa, Laos, Malaysia, Vietnam... even Finland, Belgium, and France... and, of course, Hawaiʻi. Today, I am most interested in banana diversity, both as a local Hawaiʻi farmer and leading researcher.