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Green is a Verb - Let's Build It!
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View our Hawaii Tiny House video slideshow
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Community Strengthening is
One Island's Goal
As a community-based non profit, we are focused on developing local solutions to pressing community needs. We invite you to join this empowering process of addressing and solving real challenges in concrete ways.
Food . Farms . Renewable Energy . Green Building . Health . Art & Culture
How can you join in?
- Engage friends in actively supporting the new Tiny House legislation.
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Volunteer to help the Same Canoe project present Hawaiian heritage food and wellness presentations at local Farmers' Markets, schools and senior centers.
- Attend Affordable Housing, Health or Arts Community Forums & share your ideas.
- Support your local farmers' markets and ask for / eat local foods when dining out.
- Join us on a fun renewable energy tour and promote climate solutions.
- Find a meaningful community service to connect your heart and mind, and put your body in motion to be part of the solution.
Take Action in Your Community!
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What's Happening at One Island
Being Part of the Change We Want to See in the World
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TINY HOUSES - Affordable Housing
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First Tiny House Conversation in Hawi, photo Ivy Ashe
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New Legislation in Support of Tiny Houses is in motion
Close to 50 people from all over the island showed up for the first Tiny House Community Conversation convened by One Island in Hawi on January 28th. The resounding conclusion was YES!!! Tiny Houses are a smart, resource efficient solution to our affordable housing crisis in Hawaii, much as they are in communities across the nation. At the top of the list is farm housing to help increase local food security.
Representative
Cindy Evans announced BRAND NEW LEGISLATION submitted in the State House that needs everyone's support now. Hawaii County Councilmember Tim Richards shared his local need assessments about bringing Tiny Houses to Hawaii to help local farmers and farm workers live on their farms. Hawaii Councilmember Jen Ruggles was also represented and a presentation by
Habitats Hawaii showcased finely crafted Tiny House solutions being built here in Hawaii. Read coverage in
West Hawaii Today or the
Hawaii Tribune Herald.
View the new Hawaii Tiny House video slide show being shared statewide and with legislators
 Following the guest speakers, the full-capacity group broke into five break-out sessions to outline their needs and hopes, concerns and barriers, and to sign up for upcoming working groups to drill down into the specifics of Tiny House implementation.
The Kohala Working Group meets again on Feb. 28th. A Big Mahalo to Holly and Eila Algood for making their beautiful green-built bamboo barn available for the meeting.
YOUR VOICE IS INVITED
1)
Read the proposed legislation
in House Bills 2 and 229, then prepare your concise testimony
and submit your comments in the next week - time is of the essence. Look for the underlined sections in the Bills - they are short and easy to read.
See HB2 and HB229
Look on the right side of each Bill's page for the 'All Versions' PDF link to read the full Bill, noting the underlined areas where the additions or changes are being requested.
Click on the blue SUBMIT TESTIMONY to post your comments at top of each Bill's web page.
HB229 asking for no limits on small house size is being heard on Feb 7th. HB2 hearings will begin soon after. Let the Legislators know how Tiny Houses can help solve our affordable housing crisis.
You can also champion Tiny Houses by reaching out directly to your own local Legislators by phone or email. These decision makers need to hear your support.
Contacts: Hawaii Island
County Council
, and at the Hawaii State level:
State House,
State Senate
2) We also invite you to share your comments and suggestions
on the One Island Tiny House Initiative web blog and we will share those will all legislators to help make good change happen.
Click to post your Comments.
3) Join us for upcoming Tiny House Conversations around the island. Next event is Wednesday, February 22nd, 6:30pm at the Hawaiian Cultural Center of Hamakua in Honoka'a. Please RSVP for details to
greenschool@oneisland.org .
Additional gathering plans in South Kona and Puna are being made.
Speak Up for Positive Change
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The Native Hawaiian Village of Miloli'i is one of the few remaining native fishing villages in the state. This small village in South Kona was once wiped out by a tsunami and eventually rebuilt, two generations later, in a remote oceanfront location that has not had electric utilities or potable water.
Power has been supplied by noisy gas generators that require many miles of travel to acquire high-cost gasoline to operate. Many homes have never had refrigeration. And during the 2015-16 Dengue quarantine, the water system problems in the village gained statewide attention, impacted the charter school, and put a spotlight on rural village health and safety challenges.
One Island brought the first solar electricity and solar refrigeration to the village - plus two dozen solar ovens and soil for their charter school's community garden in 2012 and 2013.
This year we are very thankful that the USDA has entered into an agreement to help bring new solar electricity to homes that do not have solar power, and to bring options for refrigeration, water distilling, and solar cooking to all of the village homes on leasehold lots. We will be serving the highest needs homes with children, seniors and the disabled first, and have 3 years to complete the training, energy efficiency assessments, and installation process.
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Bringing solar to the village in 2012
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$896,450 in equipment and services has been awarded to serve the Native Hawaiian Village of Miloli'i.
A Big Mahalo! to USDA Rural Development
for approving and funding this project serving the highest need community on the Island of Hawaii.
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Good News!
The next cycle of Same Canoe food system work has been awarded a new Specialty Crop Grant to showcase healthy, local canoe crop foods 2017-18.
We will be working with Farmers' Markets, Grocery stores, Restaurants and Chefs, School gardens, and Community groups to gather recipes, host cooking classes, provide free tastings, and connect buyers with farmers. The project promotes the appreciation and availability of these Hawaiian legacy foods. Districts served include Hamakua, North and South Kohala, and North and South Kona.
Mahalo to the State of Hawaii Department of Agriculture for their support, and the USDA Specialty Crop Program!
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We have begun the planning steps to develop a new Wellness Center Campus in North Kohala that will offer Western and Integrative Medicine through non-profit health care providers and private practitioners. We envision this campus as a convergence for the 'Food is Good Medicine' dialogue and are considering options to include a healthy foods kitchen, demonstration gardens, community meeting rooms, and Tiny House-style accommodations for visiting practitioners and clients. The program will also link clients to farm-based wellness retreats in North Kohala and offer on-farm wellness tours.
Strengthening our Island's Wellbeing
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| Blue Zones expands to West Hawaii ! |
A Big Mahalo to our inspiring and innovative stakeholders doing the 'Good Work': Blue Zones Hawaii, West Hawaii Community Health Center, Hamakua-Kohala Health, Ho'opomaika'i, and the Naturopathic Physicians Society. Together, we serve over 30,000 island residents with positive health and behavior change tools.
"Living Longer. Better."
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Visual and Performing Arts - Great Food for Thought
On Inauguration Night, the community of North Kohala came out to celebrate local arts at a lively Pop Up Show and were intrigued by a very thought-provoking, slow moving, one man Buhto performance, with out dialogue, set to Pink Floyd, that offered an intriguing view into the psychology behind the change in national leadership.
The Arts are a vital component of our society and can offer tremendous value as self and societal reflection.
Stand up - and show up - for The Arts
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One Island is a 501c3 non-profit organization
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