Business View Magazine l November 2022

32 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 11 of communities and commercial properties, we approach planning with respect for Hawaii’s traditions and finite natural resources. By incorporating clean energy technologies and innovative community design that promotes non-motor traffic, Castle & Cooke embraces the principles of sustainability and smart growth.” President Harry Saunders and Vice President of Residential Operations, Garret Matsunami, begin with a note on Castle & Cooke Hawaii’s history. Mr. Matsunami shares, “It was in 1837 that our founders, Samuel Northrup Castle and Amos Starr Cooke, landed in Hawaii. They began the journey as missionaries, teaching local Hawaiians and their Royal Family, and organizing mission supplies. By 1851, the two men realized the local mission families needed a more reliable and localized supply, so they decided to found Castle & Cooke as a merchant partnership. It was a pretty humble start, mostly focused on hardware, textile supplies, and medicine, but their work was incredibly well received by missionaries and their families in the area. Soon they were able to become more involved in agriculture, namely pineapple and sugar. That was in the late 1850s. Castle & Cooke eventually became landowners and wound up buying what is now known as the Dole Food Company in 1931, which had the largest pineapple factory in the world and grew more of the crop in Hawaii than any other major player of the time. The acquisition of Dole was the basis for Castle & Cooke to move into real estate, which is what we are now best known for.” Mr. Saunders adds, “Thanks to our land base and history in agriculture, Castle & Cooke has a solid agritourism foundation- Dole Plantation is known worldwide, and it promotes diversified and sustainable agriculture. It’s one of the largest tourist attractions in the state, with 1.5 to 2 million visitors each year. It is certainly the largest tourism activity focusing on diversified agriculture. Is it tourism? Yes. But we also have a heavy focus on education- sustainability, history, and culture being the major points we want to teach our visitors. It’s really important that we maintain our roots in agriculture.” CASTLE & COOKE HAWA I I