Pack Goats cannot carry full weight until they reach four years of age, as their bones are still growing and forming. The first four years are spent IN TRAINING.
Socialization is one of the biggest factors in raising a good pack goat. The equipment, the weight, the distances all come in time with the bonds built in those first years.
We are still in our FIRST FOUR YEARS at Goat With The Flow. Our growing team of packers range in age from 6 months to 4 years of age, most of them wethers (castrated males) although there are sometimes does available. We work with the goats every day to produce friendly trail companions.
We are currently offering opportunities for the eager to jump in and experience non-weighted goat hikes, goatwalking and goat campouts. If you are willing to carry your own pack in these early days of our growth, the joy of having goats accompany you on the trail need not wait! Join us on the #kipukakaoproject and help us transform the modern kīpuka, young and filled with invasive species, into the *future* ancient kīpuka of Puna; filled with the canoe plants of ancient Hawaiians. A protected & honored place.
If you want to get up close and personal to one of the kīpuka that was created during the 2014 lava flow that almost devoured our little town of Pāhoa, you can join us on a hike with our team of lava goats to the breathtaking Kīpuka Kao for a give back experience like no other!
If you have 2-5 hours to spend, the round-trip hike of 1.5-2.0 miles takes us over old sugar cane roads and through wet guava forest, onto the vast and rugged terrain of hardened black lava to the hidden Kīpuka Kao.
Ocean views, a unique hidden oasis, under a huge Hawaiian sky.
Breathtaking.
When we visit the kīpuka, we work together (with the goats help) to remove invasive species such as: albezia, gunpowder tree, cecropia and other fast-growing invaders in preparation for re-establishing the native ʻōhiʻa or any of the ancient hawaiian canoe plants used for food and medicine:
- Aleurites moluccana (kukui or candlenut)
- Alocasia macrorrhiza (`ape, giant taro or elephant ear)
- Artocarpus altilis (`ulu or breadfruit)
- Bambusa vulgaris (`ohe or giant bamboo)
- Broussonetia papyrifera (wauke or paper mulberry)
- Calophyllum inophyllum (ballnut or kamani)
- Cocos nucifera (niu or coconut)
- Colocasia esculenta (taro or kalo)
- Cordia subcordata (tou or kou)
- Cordyline fruticosa (ti or kī)
- Curcuma domestica (`olena or turmeric)
- Dioscorea alata (ufi or uhi)
- Hibiscus tiliaceus (hau)
- Ipomoea batatas (`uala or sweet potato)
- Lageneria siceraria (calabash)
- Morinda citrifolia (noni)
- Musa spp. (mai`a or banana)
- Pandanus tectorius (hala)
- Piper methysticum (kava)
- Saccharum officinarum (ko or sugarcane)
- Schizostachyum glaucifolium (bamboo)
- Syzygium malaccense (ʻōhiʻa ʻai or Malacca Apple)
- Tacca leontopetaloides (Polynesian arrowroot)
- Thespesia populnea (milo)
- Zingiber zerumbet (ʻawapuhi)
Captain Cook brought goats to the islands in 1778. Those goats thrived and multiplied and caused much devastation to a fragile ecosystem.
At Goat With The Flow™, we embrace the words of Bill Mollison in the Permaculture principal: “The problem is the solution.” This simple principal and coming across a simple footprint in hardened lava is how the #kipukakao project was born.
Supporting the regenerative practice of removing invasive species using pack goats in the kīpuka while also using the pack goats to haul tools, equipment and desired plants to the remote kīpuka is a unique, eco-friendly, fun and adventurous way to walk lightly while making a BIG positive impact: Give to the ‘aina while taking it all in!
The problem can often be the solution.
COME EXPERIENCE THE KĪPUKA FOR YOURSELF!
Not on Big Island? Check out the Breadfruit Institute and PLANT A BREADFRUIT ANYWAY!
Want to learn MORE about Hawaii’s kipuka? CLICKY CLICKY
DONATE TO THIS AND OTHER GOAT WITH THE FLOW REGENERATIVE PROJECTS
Picnic/Catering Available.
WANT TO CAMP WITH US?
Goat With The Flow 