The Naked Cow Story and Vision

Naked Cow Dairy is a women-owned, family run cow dairy on the island of Oahu whose mission is to keep the art of caring for dairy cows alive and well in Hawaii and to bring Island-made signature local fresh-churned butter and artisan cheeses to the table. Hand-crafted dairy products ensure the health and happiness of the cows as well as the high quality of the product.

Started by sisters Monique van der Stroom and Sabrina St. Martin, Naked Cow Dairy is a labor of love that fills a void left by the closure of 75 (!) dairies on Oahu in the past  50 years. Monique came to the decision to start Naked Cow after working in other dairies on Oahu and watching each of them struggle and fail to compete with the cheaper mainland imports. She realized that in order to be viable it would be necessary to maximize the potential of the milk by creating value added foods like butter, yogurt and cheese. Sabrina, after leaving New Orleans post Hurricane Katrina, came to the dairy with a vision to expand the culinary reach of the product to restaurant chefs passionate about locally produced food and farmer’s market shoppers eager to support local farms.

The Impact

Hard Fact #1:  In order achieve longed for stability as a family operated agricultural business, Naked Cow Dairy direly needs to start making cheese.  By securing the waiting cheeselover market, this dairy will be able to thrive and grow.

Hard Fact  #2:  100% of cow milk cheese in Hawaii has been imported, some cheeses from more than 25,000 miles away.  Hawaii currently imports at least 80% of the food that we eat.  Let’s put a dent in these numbers!

Semi-soft Fact:  You would be helping Naked Cow Dairy make history by being the first cow milk cheese making operation in Hawaii.  

Soft Fact:  Imagine these cheeses made fresh right here on the island with milk from pasture-raised cows: mozzarella, jack, cheddar, gouda, brie, camembert, and more! mmmmm…..

What We Need & What You Get

This campaign’s goal is to raise $15,000 to equip our kitchen with a heating element for our 230 gallon cheese vat & low-temp pasteurizer. This part costs about $7000 to purchase and install. In addition we need to build and outfit a cheese aging room that will keep our delicious cheeses at the right temperature and humidity until they go to market. The equipment and buildout of the space we need is estimated to cost about $8000. With these parts of the puzzle in place we will be on the way to making Hawaii cheesy!!

 Other Ways You Can Help

You and your cheese loving friends can come along for our cheesemaking ride