The Kohala Center

A newly formed, privately funded, and fully independent academic center. Located in the city of Waimea on the Island of Hawaii. Their mission is to sustain the natural environment, strengthen the social fabric, and develop the economy of Hawaii Island through innovations in research and education.

The Kohala Center identifies, welcomes, and supports high quality teaching and research programs in the following academic areas: global medicine, ocean sciences, environmental studies, and alternative energy.  The center serves to turn the entire Island of Hawaii into a living classroom and laboratory for scholars who share its values, for those who embrace living communities and living cultures in their pursuit of academic excellence at all levels -- from kindergarten through postgraduate study. The center will ensure that all teaching and research programs it sponsors are oriented to the spiritual and cultural landscape in which Island life is embedded. 

By consciously operating at the intersection of culture, science, and community, The Kohala Center understands that its collaborative work will sustain the Island of Hawaii, as well as develop knowledge that will be of value to the world as a whole.

The Sustainable Village is working with The Kohala Center to help redesign refugee camps as ecologically sustainable settlements. For more information about this project, click here.