Our Story

Planting a Seed

Eric and Lyn Taylor were both raised in South Africa and later settled down in Southern California with their 4 children. They spent their early career in corporate America in the electronic industry and played key roles in various startup companies. In the early 2000’s, Lyn accompanied a friend to Kauai. The magnificent scenery and the Aloha Spirit of the people on Kauai stole her heart. She had always wanted to have a place where she could bring disadvantaged children together and offer them a free week away. It was to be set in an environment where they could experience life in a different way from their current situation, and that they would come to see that life could be different. Once they retired from the corporate world in 2003, they began dreaming up Makanalani. They spent over 6 years transforming raw land into what is now Makanalani and they have not stopped since! Their heart is to serve the youth and leave no child behind.

Developing Our Property

In 2005 Eric and Lyn purchased 130 acres on the North Shore of Kauai and began developing the land. We now have a large barn, the Kids House, and an agricultural processing building which all operate completely off the grid. Our property is home to flocks of sheep, a herd of dairy cows, mini donkeys, hives of honeybees, a citrus orchard, a tea garden, and over 300 fruit trees. We have worked very hard to develop our farm and protect the beautiful land.

Protect & Respect

We offer our guests the opportunity to pick fruit from our trees, watch the shepherd with the sheep, feed the miniature donkeys, and watch our dairy farmer milk the cows every morning. By creating these opportunities, we hope to teach children to be good stewards of the land and give them a greater appreciation of the need to protect and respect the resources that are available to them.

Future Growth

Although Makanalani has grown enormously from its simple beginnings as a piece of untamed overgrown jungle, we are not done yet. We plan to keep going and growing so that we can give even more to each group that visits us. Besides providing new facilities for more activities around the property, we want to provide more funding for food and local transport, as well as helping with air travel to Kauai. We have big dreams for future growth and we are confident that we can get there with the help of our supporters.