Lei Making and Marketing - A New Approach to Marketing

View the project final report

Commodities

• Additional Plants: ornamentals

Practices

• Education and Training: demonstration, farmer to farmer, networking, participatory research
• Farm Business Management: new enterprise development, value added
• Pest Management: cultivation
• Production Systems: agroecosystems, holistic management
• Sustainable Communities: new business opportunities, partnerships, public participation, social networks, sustainability measures

The economic underpinning for many of Guam’s communities comprises tourists from Asia. Antoinette Okada proposes to tap into this market by growing and selling flowers for use in arrangements of cut flowers and for use in hand-crafted leis. She notes that hotels, restaurants, conference rooms and businesses display floral arrangements using tropical flowers. Few are native to Guam, with most shipped from Hawaii, but all can be grown locally. Likewise, leis, typically given in love and friendship at celebrations and in greetings, can be made from locally grown flowers. Okada plans to conduct a survey to assess the demand for cut flowers and to hold lei-making classes. Success with the project will show local producers, women in particular, that they can be financially self-sufficient by entering the market for flowers and leis.