High in the hills of Hawaii’s Big Island, Henk Rogers—best known for bringing Tetris to the world—is taking on a new kind of challenge: building a fully off-grid life. On his 32-acre Pu‛uwa‛awa‛a Ranch, he’s growing his own food, producing his own energy, and working to protect Hawaii’s future.
source.image: Kirsten Dirksen
At his main home, Rogers tends an abundant edible garden with bananas, avocados, macadamia nuts, coffee, vegetables, and chickens. Nearby, he cares for an orchard of native plants, harvesting seeds and storing them in a seed bank on his property.
source.image: Kirsten Dirksen
Thanks to solar-powered refrigeration, the seed bank also serves as a resource for West Hawaii seed savers working to preserve local plant varieties. Across the property, Rogers showed us the incarnation of his childhood dream—a James Bond-style personal testing lab. The Blue Planet Energy Lab is a sleek, solar-powered structure designed to test cutting-edge technologies.
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It generates hydrogen fuel, stores excess power in high-capacity batteries, and serves as a model for clean, self-sufficient living. For Rogers, it’s more than a passion project—it’s a way to use his success to help build a better future for the generations that follow.
While Alexey Pajitnov created Tetris, it was Henk Rogers who turned it into a global phenomenon—securing the rights that brought the game into the hands of millions.