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@hotzcatz - Thank you for the great informative post. Regarding that though, I have been through all of that a number of times with associates of mine who are farmers. Have you heard of the Factor E Farm and what they are doing in Missouri? Open Source Ecology Weblog
There ya go! What they are doing is what I plan on replicating. And yes, that does include extracting minerals such as iron from their sources such as iron ore. In the meantime before they finish what they have going on there and before I complete their immersion program, I will doing volunteer work on different farms on the Big Island, here on O'ahu, and on different farm internationally via the WWOOF and HelpX programs.
I have already gotten started on my learning. I volunteer at four places that are teaching me skills that I will need on my farm. I volunteer at Hanauma Bay, a horse farm, a dairy cow farm, and at a gardening place here as well. My main 40 hour a week job is at Kualoa ranch and I am working my way up from beginner horse handler to advanced as well as learning about cattle and other farming things there. So, as you can see, I am very busy volunteering and learning what it takes to learn each animal that I plan to keep on my farm.
Regarding the brick fencing for my entire acreage, check out the CEB press on the Factor E farm link I posted above. That is what I'll use to my bricks with. I'll use those bricks to build my house as well as the fence around my property. Realistically, I was thinking it would take about 3-4 days per acre.
Well, that sounds hopeful, to build a brick wall in 3 - 4 days per acre. I'm guessing it will actually take rather a bit longer than that, but perhaps you work much harder than I (which isn't that hard). It should be interesting, at least.
If you can make kiln bricks with the brick making machine, there's probably a market for kiln bricks so folks can make bake ovens in their backyards. If you got tired of building brick fences, you could sideline in pizza ovens.
In Hawaiian Acres, the lots are three acres and the dimensions are 871.2' x 125' which is plus or minus about a 2,000 feet perimeter for three acres. If I remember, it took three days to clear the vegetation away from one side line, let alone three days to build a fence along it. But, I'm not a dedicated hard working person, either, I stop when I get blisters or mash my finger with a hammer and cuss.
You didn't mention horses on your farm. Why no horses? Training horses might be another good sideline job to go along with building pizza ovens and farming. You could look for work at Parker or one of the other ranches around here while you were looking for a farm. Then you'd be on island and have time to look as well as it's much more likely you'd find out about a good place if the folks knew you and knew what you were looking for.
I really want to put horses on my farm and I very well may include them later on. But from what I have been constantly advised on other forums that I inquire about this on is that initially I should NOT include horses on my farm.
Even though I intend to get to a point eventually where I can do everything 100%, horses, from what I have been told, are an extremely costly farm animal to maintain with very little benefit to offer. That is, until I am very confident that I am able to take care of them very well on my own without outside help similar to how was done "in the old days". This is also why I didn't mention alpacas, llamas, or donkeys/mules. They are too costly until I am at the point that I'm certain I know how to deal with all of the issues with raising them entirely on my own.
Not sure about the pizza oven thing though. Thoughtful suggestion, I suppose. Always good to have backup sources of income.
I agree that horses can be expensive without much benefit, but alpacas, llamas, or donkeys/mules can be used to help solve a big problem that you might have with your other livestock (sheep, goats, ducks, etc) namely other peoples dogs coming on to your property and killing your livestock.
This can be a major problem and these animals often can develop a relationship with your livestock and protect them against the neighborhood dogs.
There is a donkey adoption program on the island so you won't have to spend too much money getting one.
@cagary - That is why I'm going to fence in all my acreage no matter how much I purchase with a brick wall(s). That makes me wonder though, these dogs that you mention. Are they actually other peoples' dogs or are they dogs that have been deserted and are now a problem all over the Big Island?
I ask this because if they are the actual property of someone who is just letting them run free and return home at will then I will have to be extremely picky about where I purchase my land in Hamakua. Either way though, if I see them on my property then they are getting shot the moment I see them. I hope that's not a problem because that's how it's done where I am from. But more importantly, I hope this is just a general warning that you are issuing and it's not really a problem that 95% of BI farmer's have to deal with.
@cagary - That is why I'm going to fence in all my acreage no matter how much I purchase with a brick wall(s). That makes me wonder though, these dogs that you mention. Are they actually other peoples' dogs or are they dogs that have been deserted and are now a problem all over the Big Island?
I ask this because if they are the actual property of someone who is just letting them run free and return home at will then I will have to be extremely picky about where I purchase my land in Hamakua. Either way though, if I see them on my property then they are getting shot the moment I see them. I hope that's not a problem because that's how it's done where I am from. But more importantly, I hope this is just a general warning that you are issuing and it's not really a problem that 95% of BI farmer's have to deal with.
shooting a dog you find roaming on your property is a not a good way to endear you to your neighbors. this is hawaii, "how" it is done is other places is not necessarily how it is done here
My first piece of advice is to get yourself a spreadsheet program for your computer, then use it to calculate the quantities of materials and other related costs for the things you are imagining. Blue sky dreaming has its place, but at some point you need to confront reality, and what it will take to do what you imagine doing. Or just do the math with paper and pencil, but until you do the calcs you're only in the domain of imagination.
To take a single item, stop now and figure out what it will really take to make a brick fence around 10 acres. If that's a square property, the perimeter will be about 3700' long. If built 6' tall, that's about 22,200 sq ft of brick face. How long will it take you to make that quantity of brick and lay it as a wall? You won't be able to make even a half-wild guess without doing the calculations. You mentioned 3-4 days per acre as a guess (30-40 days overall), but it strikes me offhand that it could easily total 5-10X that much.
Then once you have a plan that makes sense to you, ask around to find out what other people's experience has been IN THE AREA YOU PLAN TO BE IN. Personally, the idea of using CEBs to build a fence in Puna strikes me as potentially impractical because of the very high rainfall in the area. CEB construction, like adobe, is most practical in dry hot areas of low rainfall, like New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. That is probably why you just don't see CEB construction around here.
Another point, you mentioned using iron ore from the property to make your own iron because they're doing that elsewhere? Sorry, you're highly unlikely to find iron ore in Hawai'i. Highly. Or any other ore, for that matter. And even if you did find it, much of the land here (most?) has had the mineral rights separated and they're owned by the state.
As for deer, you should know that officially the county is trying to eradicate all deer from the Big Island because they are so destructive to the natural habitat. One issue they are having in the 3 areas where the axis deer are established is that they need 8' fences to contain them.
@cagary - That is why I'm going to fence in all my acreage no matter how much I purchase with a brick wall(s). That makes me wonder though, these dogs that you mention. Are they actually other peoples' dogs or are they dogs that have been deserted and are now a problem all over the Big Island?
I ask this because if they are the actual property of someone who is just letting them run free and return home at will then I will have to be extremely picky about where I purchase my land in Hamakua. Either way though, if I see them on my property then they are getting shot the moment I see them. I hope that's not a problem because that's how it's done where I am from. But more importantly, I hope this is just a general warning that you are issuing and it's not really a problem that 95% of BI farmer's have to deal with.
The dogs are usually owned by someone, but the owners don't care much if the dogs get out and wander. Unfortunately, the attitude seems to be that one has to fence out other peoples dogs rather than it is the responsibility of the dog owner to fence their dogs in. Obviously, this is not how it should be, but I'm just telling you how it is.
You may get lucky and be surrounded by good, responsible dog owners, but maybe not. Shooting a dog that is about to kill some of your livestock on your property sure would seem justified, but its still not going to go over well in the community. Secure fencing and a couple of donkeys might be the best way to go.
I know your plan is for a wall around your lot, but do look into hog wire fencing with barbwire reinforcement. Its what almost everyone uses and with good reason. With regular maintenance it is very effective. And remember its not only dogs you have to keep off your property, large wild boar roam the island and they can destroy your crops very quickly.
@Nalu - I can't stop them if they are not on my property... Why did you mention that though?
@cagary - So, the only districts I should be looking at are in my property search online are: North Hilo, Hamakua, North Kohala, and South Kohala. Is that correct?
One more thing you might want to look for during your property search in Hamakua is a stream either on or bordering the property.
The stream that borders my property has enough "head" or flow to power the home I plan to build. Mini hydro electric systems are quite common and allow one to live completely off grid and they are very reasonably priced. No electric poles, wires, etc. and you never have to pay HELCO's never ending electric bill increases. You also have to deed over an easement from your property to HELCO so they can work on their lines when ever they want to. Unlike solar where the sun shines at most 12 or so hours a day (and sometimes not at all), water flows 24/7 as long as its a year round stream.
@OpenD – I have plans to go through everything step-by-step as far as costs go. I have done some of the work already. I do not mention it here because I feel it merits it’s own thread. (which I guess I can make later since there is interest)
About the CEB in the rainy areas of the BI. I will have to check with the manufactors about that. It is still a long ways off so I’m not that worried just yet. The machine that make the bricks (the CEB Press) is manufactured out of Missouri, which is a state that gets a fair amount of rain from what I have read. So, if it works there then it should work on the BI. But, again, that is a very valid point that I will definitely keep in mind.
About the minerals and whatnot. This is also something that is just talk for right now. I was only mentioning it because the farm, that is making great strides in these areas, claims that they will have a program in place to teach these skills to individuals who attend their immersion course sometime in the future. So, yeah, that really remains to be seen.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OpenD
And even if you did find it, much of the land here (most?) has had the mineral rights separated and they're owned by the state.
I am curious though. What did you mean by this? So, if I find minerals on my land then it doesn’t belong to me automatically? If so, then I will definitely have to make sure that the land I purchase does not fall under whatever agreement that is...
As for the deer, thanks for the heads up. I’m sure I would have found out about it during my research sooner or later. At least I can mark that off my list.
Regarding the stray dangerous animals (dogs/wild boar), hopefully if I can just get the brick wall up then all of this should be averted. But, you’re right, I meant to say I would shoot the dog immediately if I deemed it to be vicious and intent on causing destruction/harm. I do understand that some wandering stray dogs are just out having a good time and wouldn’t harm a soul, whether it be beast or human. My dog used to get out at times when I was a kid and I know I would have been very sad if someone would have shot him.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cagary
One more thing you might want to look for during your property search in Hamakua is a stream either on or bordering the property.
Great idea! It’s now on my checklist. I’m going to start calling around early next week. I’m in no hurry though. I have to pay off my condo here on O’ahu first.
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In the meantime before they finish what they have going on there and before I complete their immersion program, I will doing volunteer work on different farms on the Big Island, here on O'ahu, and on different farm internationally via the WWOOF and HelpX programs. 
