Innovation Grants will help address community challenges on Kaua‘i

A dozen organizations have received thousands of dollars in grant money from Kaua‘i County Office of Economic Development’s Innovation Grant program.

In a recent announcement, OED said the grant program, now in its sixth year “aims to support new or pilot initiatives that advance innovation, address community challenges and strengthen Kaua‘i’s economic development.”

The goal? To fund “innovative projects that generate both short-term and long-term economic growth and diversification,” the announcement noted.

According to OED, the office received 28 proposals this year. The proposals received public feedback and the comments were incorporated into the evaluation and scoring of the projects.

The 12 selected proposals received a total of $368,362. The organizations and projects that have received funding are:

Kaua‘i Federal Credit Union Foundation — $40,000 for Kalukalu Katalyst, a one-year pilot program that will provide small businesses with essential, otherwise unaffordable resources. OED says the effort builds technical skills and collective resilience through expert-led training, peer learning and practical application at community pop-up markets.
I Ola Wailuanui — $25,000 for the Wailuanuiaho‘āna Wahipana Mapping Project, which aims to protect land, preserve culture and support regenerative tourism goals.
Mālama Kaua‘i — $50,000 for Kaua‘i Local Food Cooperative Farmers Market booths. The project will launch a pilot farmers market booth for Mālama Kauaʻi’s online food hub, KauaiLocalFood.com. OED says this will boost access to local food and promote over 100 local producers. The staffed booth also will function as both a retail point of sale and an outreach center.
‘Āina Ho‘okupu O Kīlauea — $35,120 for the purchase of a mechanized root vegetable harvester and a row builder from Japanese suppliers. OED says that the Kīlauea Community Agricultural Center will then pilot mechanized harvests, train staff, and develop new value-added products, as well as share findings by hosting a farmer workshop and publishing a practical “playbook.”
Ho‘omalu Ke Kai/Kauai Sea Farm — $35,959 for the Kaua‘i Limu Lab, a dedicated program for cultivating clean seedstock cultures of native Hawaiian limu, or seaweed. OED says the lab will partner with the Oʻahu-based Limu Hui “to exchange and maintain native limu varieties, creating a living seed bank and reliable seedstock supply.”
Storybook Theatre of Hawai‘i — $25,000 to create and tour a new educational show, "The Rhinoceros Beetle Show,” at schools and venues across Kauaʻi. With it, the organization aims to educate more than 4,000 children “about the urgent threat of the invasive coconut rhinoceros beetle,” OED notes.
Ho‘omalu Ke Kai — $20,000 to build the community and infrastructural capacity for coral restoration on Kauaʻi.
National Tropical Botanical Garden — $25,982 for Loulu Love Fest, a two-day initiative dedicated to rescuing Hawaiʻi’s native loulu palm and raising awareness of its cultural and ecological importance. According to OED, the first day will feature a professional symposium with experts sharing research and tools for loulu protection and focusing on threats like the coconut rhinoceros beetle, while the second day will feature a free community celebration with cultural demonstrations, guided walks and educational workshops.
Hawai‘i Farmers Union Foundation/Hawai‘i Ulu Cooperative — $25,172 to expand certified ʻulu, or breadfruit, processing and establish baseline niu , or coconut, processing capacity on Kauaʻi, strengthen farmer participation, create new market opportunities and increase community access to locally grown foods. Plans also include farmer and consumer education.
E Ola Kākou Hawai‘i — $25,000 for Niu Ola, an effort to document a baseline data collection map of coconut trees on Kauaʻi and collect data on coconut rhinoceros beetle feeding and breeding sites, as well as entrapments and treatment measures.
CG Foundation/Kauai Fresh Fish — $48,749 to launch a value-added seafood line by transforming locally caught, underutilized fish into smoked, dried, canned, and flash-frozen products. OED says that in a parallel effort, KFF will conduct research and development on a “fish emulsion fertilizer, repurposing waste and diverting it from the landfill.”
Mālama I Nā Honu —$12,650 for the Po‘ipū Honu Research Project, which aims to “enhance the understanding of sea turtle behavior, distribution and seasonal patterns around Kauaʻi by leveraging field data on basking turtles and seasonal nesting behaviors (especially related to trips to French Frigate Shoals).”