A couple Southern California natives, Mark and Ali Minney are surfers and sailors turned flower growers. Like seabirds, the wind and waves are what brought these two to Maui, but it's the flowers and family that keep them nested here today.
As a 17-year old surfer from Laguna Beach, in 1979 Mark Minney packed his surfboard and made his pilgrimage to Maui. Determined to support himself in paradise, Mark began a career building homes, surfing the sea, and learning how to propagate protea from one of the founders of Maui's budding Protea Industry - his uncle, Jim Heid.
In 1986, Mark purchased a picturesque 5-acre parcel of Ag-zoned land in Kula. Applying his newly learned skills, he not only raised a house on the property, but also 4-acres of protea plants with varieties imported from South Africa and Australia. And while this was originally an investment property Mark was intending to sell, his plan would soon change once he met Ali.
A Manhattan Beach native, at age 17, Ali spent her summer living with her older brother in Lahaina, sailing around Maui's turquoise water on his 30-foot Sloop. Bit by the sailing bug and island living, Ali made up her mind to stay on Maui when the summer had ended. Her parents however insisted she come back to California to finish high school. She did, and her parents rewarded her with a one-way plane ticket to Maui for her graduation present.
For the next 5-years, Ali spent her days sailing around Hawaii and touring the South Pacific. It was the ocean that thrilled her, but it was Maui's countryside that calmed her. Upcountry Maui is where she loved spending time when she had two feet on land. And while Ali moved back to Manhattan Beach, she kept her dream alive of living her life on a "little slice" of Upcountry Kula land.
Thirteen years later, Ali returned to visit her brother for the holidays. That's when she met Mark Minney. Sparks flew at first sight. On a weekend sailing trip to Lanai, under Maui's magical sea-spell, they fell in love and were married one week later. From that moment on, Mark's investment house became their home, and together they began raising their family and their protea business on their own "little slice" of paradise.
Today, Malolo Farm Protea is proud to offer the most unique varieties of protea flowers in the world. Located on the leeward slope of Haleakala, in one of the most ideal protea growing climates in the world, the warm days, cool nights, 2000' elevation, and well-drained acidic volcanic soil allows their vibrant plants to produce colorful exotic blooms that last for weeks.
Over the last 25 years Mark and Ali have worked closely with the University of Hawaii Agricultural Station in Kula in implementing their hybridization program, creating hundreds of new protea varieties which are unique to Hawaii. Malolo Farm grows over 100 hybrid varieties of protea which are found nowhere else in the world. Annually, they produce120,000 blooms which are sold throughout Hawaii and the mainland U.S.
Shipping farm direct to you, Malolo Farm Protea offers wholesale flowers throughout Hawaii and amazing fresh-picked Protea gift boxes, baskets and wreaths for their mainland U.S. customers. Malolo Farm is also a certified nursery which sells cloned protea plants to other protea growers in Hawaii.
Ali and Mark are living their dream, and their daughters are embracing this dream and their business too. Currently studying Environmental Horticulture at Santa Barbara City College, their oldest daughter Paige will return to take over the family operation. You can bet she will find a one-way ticket back to Maui from mom and dad in her graduation card.
Ordering a gift box full of Malolo Protea Farm's Protea is a perfect way to send some aloha to a relative, friend, client or special someone. It will surely be the most unique gift of flowers or plants you will ever send and you will feel good knowing you are supporting America's hard working farmers. Ali and Mark guarantee it!
Mark and Ali with their Maui Hybrid pincushion, "Alii" and
dog OSA Minney
