The Hawaii Community Foundation will take over ownership of 2,400 acres in Kapaau in North Kohala to use as a “living laboratory.”
In a partnership between HCF, the University of Hawaii and Arizona State University, the land — called ‘Iole — will be used as a model for how indigenous practices can help improve Hawaii’s energy and food security.
“It’s kind of a Native Hawaiian whiteboard,” said HCF CEO and President Micah Kane, explaining that ‘Iole will leverage expertise from its university partners and Native Hawaiian community members to demonstrate sustainability models that can be enacted elsewhere in the world.
The land for the project was gifted to HCF by the New Moon Foundation and the Kohala Institute. Kane said the land transaction began last year and should be completed within the next 60 days.
“We’re not actually starting something new,” said Alapaki Nahale-a, vice chair of the UH Board of Regents and Interim CEO of ‘Iole. “We’re building off of what was going on before. … The New Moon Foundation and Kohala Institute knew that if they wanted to expand what they were doing, they needed an organization with more resources.”
Nahale-a said HCF, UH and ASU have committed to jointly raise $6.75 million for ‘Iole operations for its first three years, a period he referred to as a pilot program. Some of those funds, he said, will be used for necessary repairs on the existing site infrastructure, such as an independent water system, fencing and internet access.
In a press release announcing the project, Mayor Mitch Roth praised HCF’s efforts, calling ‘Iole “the epitome of potential for sustainable action and community resilience here on Hawaii Island.”
The county administration has not directly contributed to the ‘Iole project, but Nahale-a said both HCF and the Roth administration are philosophically aligned in terms of their focus on sustainability, which has greased the wheels of the project.
Both Kane and Nahela-a called the ‘Iole project a modern ahupua‘a, a subdivision of land cultivated by ancient Hawaiians.
“Everyone’s inundated with struggles and fearing things locally and globally,” Nahale-a said. “There’s COVID, the climate, the possibility of global war. … We need wins. ‘Iole is a beacon of possibility. It’s small on a global scale, but that’s why we think it can work. It’s big enough to matter, but it’s small enough that we can take personal responsibility.”
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.