In November 2016, Foundation Board and Staff, along with the Hawaiʻi Island Community Development Corporation (HICDC), participated in a blessing of 12 acres of land in Pepeʻekeo on Hawaiʻi Island. This land would eventually become home to Puʻuʻalalā Village, a 30 home, self-help housing project for families who wanted to become first-time homeowners. Every weekend for nearly a year, with the support of HICDC, these families spent long hours building their homes together. The project consisted of three phases. Thefirst phase of 10 homes was completed in June 2020, the second phase in November 2020, and the final phase in January 2022. This is the second affordable housing project the Foundation has supported.
Knowing that Puʻuʻalalā Village would be completed in 2022, the Foundation Board and Staff took time to reflect on its work in housing and, as a result, confirmed a renewed commitment to affordable housing by adopting a goal to increase access to stable and affordable housing for families who are not well served by the market. The terms “stable and affordable” are important to us since that is what ensures a family can stay in-place, develop roots and connections, and raise their children. In adopting this goal, the Foundation was mindful of the many challenges related to affordable housing our families are facing across the state. We know that addressing this issue is a tall order as there is neither a single path to proceed nor can any one of us do this work single handedly. But we are...[continue reading]
Program Spotlight
Meet the Latest Hauʻoli Mau Loa Fellows
The 10th cohort of Hauʻoli Mau Loa Fellows was recently selected and will begin their Master’s Degree studies this Fall at UH Hilo and Mānoa. These 10 Fellows join 72 others, past and current, who have received graduate assistantship support from the Foundation through our Environmental Leadership Pathways program. Learn more about the Fellows here.
Credit: University of Hawaiʻi Hilo & Mānoa websites
ENROLL NOW: Hawaiʻi Nature Center's Fall '22 Homeschool Science Series
