Meet Ava: Program Director & Passionate Advocate for Sustainable Agroforestry
Background and Education
Ava Libal, our esteemed Program Director, is a dedicated horticulturist and environmental scientist with a wealth of experience in managing agricultural and environmental projects. Ava grew up on a small organic farm, which laid the foundation for her lifelong commitment to sustainable agriculture and environmental restoration. She earned dual bachelor’s degrees in Horticulture and Environmental Science from the University of Madison.
Professional Experience
Ava’s career spans over a decade, during which she has managed significant agricultural projects both in Kenya and Hawaii. Her expertise includes everything from large-scale commercial farms to small non-profit ventures. Notably, she spearheaded a large water-catching swale project in Mombasa, Kenya, aimed at combating desertification. This project involved fundraising, managing a team of over 50 workers, and creating detailed video journals documenting the project’s progress.
In Hawaii, Ava served as the Head Grower at Big Island Produce, where she managed hydroponic cucumber cultivation, enhancing yields by 25% through innovative organic pest management systems. As the Executive Director of Food Forest Development in Pahoa, she successfully transformed invasive forests into productive food forests, significantly increasing property values and organizing educational tours and plant giveaways.
Since 2022, Ava has been managing a plant nursery in Keaau, HI, where she sells 200-500 plants monthly and educates volunteers on organic farming practices. Her hands-on approach and dedication to sustainable agriculture are evident in every project she undertakes.
Passions and Motivations
Ava’s passion for sustainable agriculture goes beyond her professional achievements. She is deeply committed to addressing food insecurity and environmental degradation through the promotion of local, organic food production. Her vision is to empower communities to grow their own food, thereby enhancing food security and environmental sustainability.
One of Ava’s core motivations stems from her childhood experiences. She recalls the special connection she felt helping her parents in the garden, a bond she now shares with her own children. This personal connection to nature and food cultivation drives her desire to educate others, especially children, about the joys and benefits of growing their own food. She believes that there is a spiritual connection in planting a seed, nurturing its growth, and harvesting its fruit, a connection she wants to share with others.
Ava has also been profoundly impacted by her experiences in Kenya, where she witnessed the devastating effects of malnutrition and deforestation. These experiences underscored the importance of preserving indigenous knowledge and practices related to sustainable agriculture. She is motivated to share this knowledge, which she believes can be scaled to small urban yards, thereby helping to restore food security and environmental health.
Ava envisions a community space where people can learn through practical experience how to create diverse agroforestry systems on their own properties. Her goal is to establish a demonstration farm that provides hands-on learning opportunities and distributes seedlings and cuttings to help families start their own gardens. She sees this as a way to combat the rising cost of food and the lack of generational knowledge about food cultivation.
Ava’s work is rooted in the belief that protecting ecosystems and ensuring food security are interconnected goals. She advocates for the use of biodynamic systems to revitalize ecosystems while producing nutritious, organic food. By educating people about these practices, she hopes to foster a deeper connection to the land and a more sustainable future for all.
