Our salt is harvested from our very own Salt Farm in Kona on Hawaii Island and also from a small salt farm on the island of Molokai. On our Kona Salt Farm, we use Deep Ocean Water that is mineral rich, full of nutrients and makes a mild and well balanced tasting salt that is prized by chefs around the world for its purity, beauty and delicate flavor.

There are different versions of Hawaiian legends about salt and in an interesting article on the salt pools near Hanapepe Kaua‘i, Keya Keita writes about one of them:

So the story goes: A young woman was fishing on the western shore of Kaua‘i. The sea had been generous, too generous, and she caught more fish than her family could possibly eat in one day. Distressed at the prospect of wasting the sea’s gifts, the woman began to weep. The fire goddess Pele heard her cries and took pity. She told the young woman to follow a rainbow from the mountain to the sea, where she would find shallow pools filled with glistening white crystals. If she rubbed the crystals on the fish, Pele said, her catch would be preserved. This is how Pele taught the ancient Hawaiians to use sea salt, or pa‘akai—literally, “to solidify the sea.”

In 1823, William Ellis traveled around the Island of Hawai‘i and wrote about the production of salt in Kawaihae:

“The natives of this district manufacture large quantities of salt, by evaporating the sea water. We saw a number of their pans, in the disposition of which they display great ingenuity.

They have generally one large pond near the sea, into which the water flows by a channel cut through the rocks, or is carried thither by the natives in large calabashes. After remaining there some time, it is conducted into a number of smaller pans about six or eight inches in depth, which are made with great care, and frequently lined with large evergreen leaves, in order to prevent absorption.

Along the narrow banks or partitions between the different pans, we saw a number of large evergreen leaves placed. They were tied up at each end, so as to resemble a shallow dish, and filled with sea water, in which the crystals of salt were abundant.”

Every salt purchase benefits the ocean. We are proud that we have given and continue to give 1% of all proceeds to the Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project since day one of operations in 2012. This project was created to protect the sensitive wildlife and critical habitats of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.