Regenesis Kauaʻi

Build abundance and resilience on Kauaʻi

Practical regenerative systems, plant knowledge, and design guidance for food security and ecological health on the Garden Isle.

High food imports, water challenges, and a changing climate make low-input, locally adapted systems more valuable than ever.

Get the free starter guide Explore Plants
Cover of the free guide: The 7-Layer Island Backyard
Free starter guide

The 7-Layer Island Backyard

A 20-page guide to a Hawaiʻi garden that looks like a forest: the seven layers, zones, soil tests, three starter guilds and a month-by-month calendar. Free by email.

Find your zone

Pick your town to see its rainfall zone and the plants that suit it.

New here? Start with these 3

  1. Observe your site Kauaʻi soils and rainfall change over short distances, so watch your own sun, wind, water and plants first. Site observation notes →
  2. Soil and Living Mulch Turning red clay, cinder, coral sand and tough grass into living soil. Coming soon
  3. Backyard Nursery Air layering, grafting, cuttings, divisions and seed saving: grow your own food-forest plants. Coming soon

Core Pathways

Plant Lists

Food-forest trees, staple crops, nitrogen-fixers, and perennial greens suited to Kauaʻi, plus a dedicated Ground Covers section.

Browse plants →

Design Guides

Food forests, zones, guilds, water, soil, and scaling from backyard to small farm.

Read the guides →

Principles

The 12 permaculture principles with practical Kauaʻi examples.

See the principles →

Start Here

Simple first steps, checklists, soil & rainfall notes, and starter guilds you can begin this season.

Start here →

Also see Kauaʻi’s context and challenges (including coconut rhinoceros beetle, little fire ant, and other invasive species), animals in the system, and the full Technology water and soil stacks.

Seven layers, one system

A well-designed food forest stacks production vertically, from tall canopy trees to ground covers and roots.

Illustration of a tropical food forest garden, with breadfruit and mango trees, bananas, papaya, taro, hibiscus, ginger in a raised bed, low ground covers, and passion fruit climbing a trellis.
Illustration from the Regenesis Kauaʻi ebook The 7-Layer Island Backyard.
Canopy Coconut, breadfruit, mango
Sub-canopy Avocado, citrus, mountain apple
Shrub Chaya, katuk, pigeon pea
Herbaceous Perennial greens, ginger, turmeric
Ground cover Sweet potato, Okinawa spinach
Vine Passion fruit, winged bean
Root Upland taro, cassava, yacon

See the full guide →

Practical Next Steps

Getting started

Start a small food forest

How to begin on a typical Kauaʻi lot with long-term trees, fast support species, and perennial greens.

 Site design

Match plants to microclimates

Wet, moderate, and dry side guidance so you plant what actually thrives where you are.

 How-to

Prepare for hurricane season

Prune, stake, and harvest before a storm, and help your food forest bounce back after.

Full resources →