Keep up-to-date with the latest news straight from us to you.

Food system expansion tied to not-for-profit’s
report
January 7, 2014

Almost two years since it was completed, The Kohala Center’s Health Impact Assessment on Hawai‘i County’s Agriculture Plan has garnered national attention and helped produce meaningful effects on the local food system.
» read more

Laulima Center Grant Aimed at Cooperatives, Small Businesses
November 20, 2013

A Big Island non-profit center will be the recipient of a federal grant designed to help cooperatives and small businesses serve rural citizens and their communities. Laulima Center, a component of The Kohala Center, will receive $200,000 under the US Department of Agriculture’s Rural Cooperative Development Grant Program.
» read more

Kaiser Permanente Hawaii donates $77,000 to support community health initiatives
August 29, 2013

Kaiser Permanente Hawaii announced it will donate $27,000 in grant funding in support of The Kohala Center. The grant from Kaiser Permanente to The Kohala Center will provide food safety certification and offer the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Program in Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii Island elementary schools. This initiative will provide food safety certification of high-need schools and will benefit approximately 700 students.
» read more

Update on the world’s largest seed banks
August 2, 2013

There are roughly 100,000 global plant varieties endangered in the world. Extreme weather events, over-exploitation of ecosystems, habitat loss, and a lack of public awareness threaten future plant biodiversity. Conservation techniques, such as the creation of seed banks and seed exchanges among farmers, gardeners, and even nations, play an important role in preserving ancient, heirloom varieties of important food crops.
» read more

Kahalu‘u’s online watershed moment
July 27, 2013

A new website, Waipuni Kahalu‘u, brings together indigenous Hawaiian knowledge and Western research science to share information about an ahupua‘a from the coral reef to the high mountain forests. It teaches users about the natural process contributing to the fresh water supply in the Kahalu‘u region, as well as explores the impacts of climate change and development on the ecosystem.
» read more

Growing the Farmers
May 30, 2013

According to Jim Cain, program director for The Kohala Center’s beginning farmer training program, growing food requires just three basic things: land, water, and people. “Our island has plenty of land and water, but we are in need of more people who want to make a living as farmers,” he said.
» read more

Guide can help protect fish in vulnerable stages
May 11, 2013

A local not-for-profit center is connecting West Hawaii communities interested in conservation and management of their fishery with easy-to-use tools that allow greater stewardship of fish populations. The Kohala Center developed a voluntary spawning guide, a colorful poster rich with pictures and information teaching users to fish more responsibly, to help preserve Hawaii’s vibrant and precious marine resources.
» read more

Farming in focus
Cultivating the land holds enormous potential for young people, advocates say, but it is often overlooked
April 28, 2013

HONOKAA >> Jim Cain doesn't sugarcoat it: Farming is tough work. Profits can fluctuate from year to year, making long-term planning both vital and next to impossible. It's not a 9-to-5, and it's rarely five days a week. It requires commitment and passion and a joy for working outdoors. In short, farming is not for everyone.
» read more

Saving Pelekane Bay
February 18, 2013

Tons of sediment — possessing the potential of wreaking havoc on Pelekane Bay at Kawaihae — remains far from the shore on Kohala Mountain thanks to the efforts of a local nonprofit and nearly two dozen volunteers. The Kohala Watershed Partnership, which is helping to restore native forests in the watershed above Pelekane Bay, spent Saturday with 20-plus volunteers in “moon country” — a dry, barren oasis where infrequent, short-lived heavy rains flush thousands of pounds of sediment from the slopes into the sea.
» read more

Used with permission from West Hawaii Today