December 2025 – The Nine Solutions of Korean Natural Farming

The Hilo KNF Monthly Meeting is a free, community-driven gathering held on the second Tuesday of every month at the Komohana Research and Extension Center. Each session focuses on one of Master Cho’s nine core solutions of Korean Natural Farming, with hands-on demonstrations, tastings, and potluck dinner.

In December 2025, the series kicked off after an eight-year hiatus. Drake introduced the complete nine-solution framework — microbes, protectors, food, cleanser, medicine, structure, fuel, reproduction, and minerals — using everyday language to make the system accessible. Community members shared powerful testimonials about chickens, aquaponics, healing a cracked tooth, and protecting cacao seedlings.

TL;DR: The Hilo KNF meetings are back. This kickoff session covered all nine solutions at a high level, with the group sharing real-world success stories. Each following month goes deep on one solution, starting with Food in January.

A Community Reunited

After an eight-year break, the Hilo Korean Natural Farming monthly meetings are back — and the community showed up ready to learn. Hosted at the Komohana Research and Extension Center, the December 2025 gathering marked the first in a new series co-organized by Laura Reber (Junior Extension Agent for Pacific Crops), Prem Lal Muthu (Junior Livestock Extension Agent), Mike DeBond, and Drake.

Laura and Prem opened the evening by welcoming the group. Prem shared his work supporting small-scale pig producers in Hawaii — a sector where Korean Natural Farming has made a transformative impact on waste management and animal health.

Drake set the tone for the series ahead: each monthly meeting will focus on one of Master Cho’s nine core solutions, building the group’s knowledge from the ground up. Experienced practitioners sit alongside newcomers, sharing wisdom over food and fellowship.

Remembering Master Cho

The group reflected on the legacy of Master Cho Han-Kyu, who passed away in January 2025. As one attendee put it, “He was the plant whisperer — he really understood what makes plants grow and how to create a thriving, living environment.” Mike DeBond shared that Master Cho’s technology is now practiced in 23 states and 29 countries, with profound impacts on livestock waste management in Hawaii.

The Nine Solutions

Drake presented the nine core tools of Korean Natural Farming:

1. Microbes – Lactic acid bacteria and indigenous microorganisms that build soil life
2. Protectors – Beneficial organisms that guard against pathogens
3. Food – Fermented plant nutrients that feed plants and soil
4. Cleanser – Living vinegar that flushes disease and rebalances pH
5. Medicine – Herbal tinctures with antimicrobial properties
6. Structure – Calcium and minerals that harden and strengthen plant tissue
7. Fuel – Growth-promoting solutions for rapid development
8. Reproduction – Bloom and fruit-set support
9. Minerals – Essential elements from natural sources

Drake compared these to a basic toolkit: “Just like a tape measure, a square, and a saw — you need a certain set of tools. You can have fancier tools, but with these nine, you can basically build most things.”

Community Testimonials

The room came alive with stories from experienced practitioners:

• Aquaponics and chickens: One farmer received a batch of mail-order chicks that looked near death. She slathered them with egg yolk oil and sprayed with lactic acid bacteria — every one survived. In her aquaponics system, adding LAB to fish ponds immediately clears the water and transforms the environment.
• Plant vigor: Another gardener noticed that with KNF solutions, “my plants got big, vigorous, happy — everything was amazingly twice as big almost.”
• Healing a cracked tooth: One practitioner made Food from comfrey, then used it as a mouth rinse after a cracked tooth. After two weeks of swishing twice daily, the tooth was completely healed — confirmed by a surprised dentist.
• Cacao seedlings: A farmer sprayed structure, medicine, and food on cacao seedlings weekly. An expert warned he’d need to hand-pick rose beetles nightly — but the leaves hardened quickly and beetles stayed away.

Diagnosing with the Nine Solutions

Drake walked the group through practical diagnosis: bugs eating leaves? Think structure, food, and protectors. Powdery mildew? Cleanser shifts leaf pH while protectors prevent spore establishment. Plants overly green? Master Cho’s insight for the tropics — too much rain brings too much nitrogen, causing plants to miss their reproduction cycle and become vulnerable to disease.

Looking Ahead

Drake brought lemon Food for everyone to taste and announced the year’s plan: January covers Food with a hands-on demo, February tackles Cleanser (vinegar), and subsequent months work through the remaining solutions.

The Hilo KNF monthly meetings are held at the Komohana Research and Extension Center. All are welcome — bring a dish to share and your curiosity about Korean Natural Farming.