A Farm Stand Built to Sell
It used to take multiple Leilehua FFA members to set up tents and tables and haul crates of fresh produce to sell at the roadside in Hawai‘i. FFA member Pookela Kauhane wanted to make it easier.
Kauhane transformed an old dirt bike trailer into a fully functional mobile farm stand designed to showcase and sell produce grown on the five-acre school farm as part of his Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE).
Over the course of several months, Kauhane designed and built the structure himself, retrofitting the trailer with shelving for vegetables, corner displays for flowers and a built-in space for a cooler to store eggs. The compact, bright red barn-inspired shed can be hooked up to a tractor, towed to the front of campus and opened for business in minutes.
Leilehua FFA advisor Jackie Freitas expected a simple mobile shed and was surprised when Kauhane shared his vision for the trailer.
“When he gave me the idea, I told him to go for it,” she recalls. “I just thought I was going to get a little shed. I didn’t think [it was going to be] a full barn-looking thing.”
For the Future
Building a mobile farm stand required Kauhane to learn a lot of new skills. He welded the frame, cut wood, installed a roof and painted the exterior to look like a traditional red barn — all tasks he had never tried before.
“I was doing most things for the first time,” he says. “I was learning [and] I hit a bunch of roadblocks.”
Kauhane credits support from advisors, including Freitas, for helping him push through challenges. The new skills will also be helpful after graduation when Kauhane plans to pursue a career in welding and diesel technology — fields directly connected to the skills he developed through his SAE.
The results, he believes, were worth the effort.
The mobile farm stand has been operating since January. It’s much easier to set up and the eye-catching design draws in customers and has had a measurable impact on sales.
“When they see it, they’re intrigued,” Freitas says. “It’s so cute.”
That curiosity has translated into increased revenue with the chapter reporting strong hourly sales during market times. The mobile farm stand has also created new opportunities for Leilehua FFA from on-campus events and parades to community outreach. For Kauhane, the biggest reward is seeing his work in action.
“It’s a relief to have it done,” he says. “It’s amazing to see what I’ve made and the impact it’s making.”
