Origin Story

Gamsa Gardens was seeded in 2020 as a family initiative to honor the life of father and husband, WILLIAM AUBREY SMITH III; an outstanding chef and culinary artist who understood the joy of food and bringing people together. Gamsa (감사) means 'THANK YOU' in Korean, and represents the gratitude and reverence we have for each other, especially our ancestors, and our planet. Our father shared this same gratitude for Earth's abundance and truly believed that no human should ever have to be hungry, especially in the "United States." 

So for him, for ourselves, and for everyone in our community, we grow food. And we do it organically and creatively. We have over 200 young fruit trees growing amidst a native ʻōhiʻa and hāpuʻu forest, utilizing the natural topography of the property to cultivate a syntropic agro-forest. We intercrop and companion plant vegetables, herbs, flowers, and ferns among the native trees, experimenting with systems that work best for this climate and elevation. We like to grow traditional African food plants like taro, sugarcane, sorghum, cassava, okra, banana, sweet potato, and pigeon peas; keeping alive our ANCESTRAL CONNECTIONS to land and growing food. We practice Korean Natural Farming methods like composting, fermentation, and the use of bacteria and fungi to create rich organic matter (here in Puna, where we're working with about 2 inches of topsoil). 

Since before becoming land stewards, it has been our desire as a family and collective to live in harmony with land and people. This includes the fierce protection of native and endemic biodiversity. It also includes our support for the LIBERATION OF THE HAWAIIAN KINGDOM and the END OF MILITARY OCCUPATION in Hawai'i. 

We encourage the recognition of the sacredness of native land as well as the interconnected experiences of land-based colonial violence for many melanated people. While our goal is to grow food and medicine to support ourselves and provide for others, we also want to manifest a space of refuge, retreat, and REVOLUTIONARY learning. 

Mago

Malik

Jessica

Three