The Proposal --Why

A large part of the Moloaa River, an exceptionally beautiful rural area of Kauai, and some adjacent land has recently been offered for sale. There are still some parcels available that are conducive to the establishment of an environmentally sound community center and eco-village, including large sustainable community gardens. Most of the river land went into escrow before it even hit the market. The status and plans for those river parcels are currently unknown, but we do know that large subdivisions and developments are popping up all over the island at an alarming rate. As floods of people seek to own a piece of paradise, Kauai is experiencing an overwhelming bout of land development as we approach the millennium. Much of the existing development is quite excessive and less than sustainable.

The rivers are the lifeblood of any land and the people who live there. In ancient Hawaii, people lived cooperatively in land divisions known as Ahupuaa, the watershed area extending from the mountain to the sea. This was an effective lifestyle for sustaining many people (far more than today) and caring for the aina in a way that assured abundance for everyone including the future generations. This project is a step towards the re-establishment of a cooperative sustainable lifestyle that is at once both ancient and modern, and based on principles that are tried and true. We think projects like this are crucial for survival of the island's ecosystems, the current residents and certainly for future generations.

What...

What made it work then, and what will work again is cooperation�land held in common stewardship. Project Common Ground is mapping a path to this cooperative village reality. We are proposing to acquire this land as a community project and be co-stewards of it in a way that sets an example of true sustainability and peaceful cooperation of everyone. Hawaii is presently experiencing a very interesting transition and we intend to support the effort of sovereignty by demonstrating how one community, defined by bioregion, can take responsibility to provide for all its real needs such as food, clean water and energy.

Throughout this proposal, when we use the term 'community,' we're meaning it in every sense of the word. It's our intention to create community that integrates not only residents, but also neighbors and the larger island community as well. It's also our intention to align ourselves with a growing worldwide movement of "leaderful" organizations. In other words, we will structure ourselves in a way that promotes equal and shared responsibility, rather than the more conventional pyramid structure of leadership. As this way embodies a growing consciousness, there's plenty of people and literature to assist us in the process of learning this positive new and yet old way.

The priority of this multi-faceted proposal is the creation of a community center to serve the needs of the residents of the rural Moloaa area and, to an extent, the larger island community and even a certain amount of visitors. Public community facilities and gardens, residential eco-village, and land restoration and reforestation are the main focal points of the plan. Our intention is to provide for every aspect of the community's needs including a community nursery and gardens, a gathering space for meetings and events, an educational and recreational space for youth, library, arts and crafts, a community wellness clinic, and an agricultural grange hall which encompasses a farmer's coop, processing center, and compost center. It will all be run by alternative energy and, as it progresses, will become a hub of innovative projects both useful and educational.

This is a model eco-village that honors the land first and the culture and spiritual practices of all people in order to demonstrate a simple, sustainable and respectful way of life. The focus of this endeavor is to benefit the island's youth and to cooperatively discover what it is that can bring diverse people together for a common good. We plan to support the efforts of the Moloaa Watershed Council, encouraging the restoration and stewardship of the river as a cooperative and educational effort of neighbors and friends.

The Cost

One 90-acre parcel, as previously mentioned, is now being sold at a cost of $2.6 million. The acreage is zoned open, which means as many as18 structures may be built on this piece without subdividing. This parcel would be an excellent location for this plan, and yet there are other places that would also work. There are still possibilities of riparian land available that would be prime for restoration projects, and potentially less expensive. We need to be flexible because of the current speed that land is being sold here on Kauai.

Our focus now is the generation of income in order to secure a suitable location. Eventually we envision being part of an island-wide network of similar projects. Because of our enthusiasm to create a shared leadership foundation, we're intending to finance the project with tax-deductible donations, and/or the private contributions of people with strictly altruistic motives. Our first priority regarding funding is to secure the land. Further research and development will be needed in order to make specific quotes regarding costs of building. We project that $50,000.00 would be a good start for research and development with the goal of manifesting approved architectural and agricultural drawings and designs, as well as the formation of solid social, organizational and financial structures.

A large central community structure, perhaps a geodesic dome, will be the heart of the village. This space, being round, would be conducive to the circular meetings of equals, as well as a central meditation hall or music center. This structure would be surrounded by long houses, in a flower petal configuration, that would accommodate common kitchen facilities, bathrooms, dining and living areas, craft and music room, greenhouse, exercise and healing rooms, etc. Surrounding this structure would be simple huts built of local sustainable materials such as bamboo.

The essential concept of Project Common Ground is to make everything, from the construction of houses to the growth of self-sustaining farms, an educational and cooperative venture of sustainable techniques. With utilization of innovative building and community design and creative (edible, medicinal, and useful) landscaping, the possibilities of accomplishing our highest aspirations are boundless. The construction projects that will be the community/learning center and farm co-op will all be cooperative educational projects. We would like to build them according to the ancient Hawaiian tradition of long houses. This will take some research to find out who can teach this process and how we can fit into all necessary building codes.

General estimates to develop and restore land to be excellent for organic farming run from $5-20,000 per acre. We feel by using simple permaculture techniques our costs will be much less than $5,000. We will start small, with zone 1 gardens and expand the farm, (edible landscaping), as we go. Our larger focus will be on reforestation with native and edible species. Some of our costs can be deferred by turning the construction of buildings with renewable resources and alternative energy into educational courses and community functions.

Needs Assessment

Recently it was announced on both CNN and the Oprah Winfrey Show that Kauai is the safest place in the USA to live. In light of the already booming population explosion of both tourists and new residents, this presents the tiny island of Kauai with an epic problem. Development to accommodate this growing number of people is eating away our agricultural land and seriously compromising our ability to create sustenance.

Today, roughly 97% of food consumed on Kauai is imported. In the case of an emergency, such as a hurricane, shipping strike or Y2K this poses a major island-wide problem. In such an instance, Kauai would certainly not be the safest place to live. Chaos would likely be a more appropriate term. Roughly 99% of our energy is also imported in the form of petroleum and natural gas that makes us further dependent. Virtually all the surface water and much of the underground waters are contaminated by non-source pollutants such as runoff from chemical farms and viruses from livestock. Our coral reefs are dying due to erosion and runoff from deforestation, chemical farming, and livestock grazing.

Health care is another major expense for many people due to costly prescriptions and medical practices that give most of the responsibility to highly trained professionals. The majority of residents in Kauai suffer financially due to our dependency on costly imported and non-sustainable products, many of which are also unhealthy. Our future is unstable because our children are not being taught sustainable living skills in the school system. Most importantly our youth need to experience positive alternatives to the dominant system that often edifies discrimination, conflict, and competition as a way to get along in the world. The opportunities we offer to our children could certainly be more excellent, as anyone knows who's paying attention to the problems of our youth.

Objectives

Project Common Ground knows that a wealth of manao (wisdom) exists in the common hands of many of the island's exceptional residents. Project Common Ground will create a functional model of total sustainability. We intend to construct organic permaculture gardens that will provide enough food for everyone in the watershed as well as a surplus for market. The eco-village will create its own energy with renewable alternative technology, such as solar, wind, biomass and hydropower. Our emphasis is on low-tech and affordable methods that can be easily shared with the community. Our cooperative river restoration project will ensure water quality through 1) researching the problems and 2) designing and implementing positive solutions including restoring the flow of water, clearing the rivers of invader species, replanting native species and education to change out-dated practices.

Our agricultural plan will emphasize reforestation, especially of native species, in order to restore the delicate balance of ecology. Reforestation will help restore the reefs and rivers by causing more rain and helping the land to absorb more, while slowing down the runoff and filtering silt along the way. This will help rejuvenate algae, fish and plant life in the rivers and reef, and restore vitality to the soil. Learning about and eating fresh, whole, organically grown food can gain us more self-responsible health care, as well as becoming educated about herbs and medicines that can be grown and harvested locally.

By emphasizing Hawaiian culture and crafts, such as weaving, basketry, kapa (cloth) making, food processing, and other living skills, we'll be increasing our creativity as well as our ability to function in harmony with the aina. The results of this project will create more abundance for everyone because it will demonstrate how all of our needs from food to medicine to energy can be met with creativity, and local renewable resources. We are also involved in implementing a local barter system called Kauai Coconut Currency.

Every aspect of Project Common Ground is an educational opportunity for the youth as well as for all residents and interested people. Our emphasis, by far, is to do everything for and with the youth, with an ultimate goal of being a sanctuary and home for youth in need. A learning center will be a main concern of this project in order to teach and share sustainable living skills. We all have a lot to learn and plenty to teach. A life of harmony with the earth is a life of dignity. Through instilling these values in the next generations we ensure a sustainable future for all.

Method

We're currently in the process of setting ourselves up as a Conservation Land Trust. The Trustees will all be respected community Kapunas (elders) and leaders. The Beneficiaries are the Future Generations Forever. As Hawaii becomes a respected Nation among Nations, we are designing a lifestyle that is harmonious with the laws of Nature. We'll focus our efforts on sustainable restoration of the watershed and cooperation of all the diverse people involved.

The project will provide an assembly space for such things as Watershed--Ahupuaa--Council Meetings, Cultural Events, Cooperative Home School, After-School Youth Programs, Recreation, and fun Neighborhood Gatherings. All courses offered for the training of residential stewards will also be available for the whole island community to participate in. A great advantage for the community is the strong network of health facilitators who are motivated to create a community wellness center for the benefit of the community's education and self-sufficient health care. This will be a very important aspect of the community project. One advantage of the eco-village is to provide a working model of a sustainable community. Another advantage of the eco-village for the larger community is to provide a base of facilitators on many levels, including restoration workers, farmers, program coordinators, educators, and community facilitators.