Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 11, Number 2, 1 February 1994 — In Hawaiʻi [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

In Hawaiʻi

) thephrase

"eeonomie development" has usually meant "high rise." By exploiting island resources and people, and abandoning traditional values, typical development strategies disregard many of our eommunities, residents of those communities, and impose a lifestyle on people that is unwanted, unhealthy, and unsustainable. But an alternative kind of development whieh is gaining recognition in Hawai'i, is an approach whieh promises to be more culturally and environmentally sensitive than past development. The concept is called "CommunityBased Eeonomie Development" or CBED. It is both a process and an ouieome and stems from community members deciding how they want eeonomie development to occur. CBED brings together a range of loeal resources and human skills to undertake an eeonomie development project that creates meaningful employment opportunities, products and services. CBED is not conducted by govemment, but by community organizations comprised of residents, whieh have often proved better equipped to address community problems because they know their neighborhoods. their neighbors, their needs and concems. While these principles appear to hold growing appeal for a wide range of eom-

munities, these concepts have particular appeal for native Hawaiians. As Hawaiians and the rest of the community wrestle with issues of sovereignty, it is appropriate that models of eeonomie development such as CBED are considered since they offer opportunities for eeonomie self-determination at the eommunity level. Community-based initiatives help to strengthen communities. Stronger,

more selfreliant, more cohesive and m o r e resilient communities make for an e q u a 1 1 y secure overall economy. T h e

Office of Hawaiian Affairs started to promote community-based eeonomie development in 1991. They recognized that CBED would, as a direct result of its eommunity roots, be more attuned to the needs of the beneficiaries. OHA has attempted to help the growth of community-based eeonomie opportunities by providing small infusions of capital to CBED projects and supporting those efforts with a large amount of technical support and training opportunities. While projects ultimately selected for funding varied in scope and theme, all recipients had in eommon the following characteristics: • A comprehensive community planning / envisioning process. • A process by whieh a broad range of community members participated in the decision-making ofthe enterprise. • Proposed projects convincingly demonstrated that they were economically and socially feasible. • The organization exhibited a willing-

ness to undertake the project with a plan and was willing to develop the skills neeessary to carry it out. Clearly, a lot of effort goes into a successful CBED enterprise. Identifying good ideas for such projects is really the easiest step. The harder-and more mean-ingful-task is getting the community together to truly exercise control and take ownership in the enterprise. CBED projects are not one-person operations. They require a great deal of work and demand cooperation from many individuals striving for a eommon goal. To help increase knowledge and

awareness of CBED, OHA co-sponsors an annual Hawai'i Conference on Community-Based Eeonomie Development, whieh brings together eommunity leaders, private funders, and government officials ffom Hawai'i and the mainland to discuss CBED as a way to diversify Hawai'i's economy and retum control of that economy back to the loeal level. Topics discussed include planning

a n d financing for CBED projects, - creating partnerships with b a n k s , financial management tech-

niques for nonprofit organizations, and loeal activities and resources. Lending institutions have traditionally been slow to accept the risk of backing communitybased enterprises. But this is changing as CBED participants become more informed and sophisticated, and as banks have the opportunity to see CBED projects eome to ftuition. Bank of Hawaii co-sponsored the 1993 CBED conference (along with the Department of Business, Eeonomie Development and Tourism) and officials ffom a number of financial institutions also took part in the event. This ean only be seen as a favorable sign for the future. OHA is encouraged by the interest in community-based eeonomie development being generated from the private sector and at the state and federal levels. Despite a lingering eeonomie recession, and possibly because of it, CBED continues to stand out as a strategy whieh offers real solutions for positive change.

K A U A ' I Hawaiian Farmers of Hanalei (Waipa). Planning and organizational development grant to identify and plan for specific eommu-nity-based eeonomie development projects with emphasis on kalo production and processing, microenterprise development, and cultural tourism activities. M O LO K A ' I Ke Kua'āina Hanauna Hou (Puko'o). Limu culture, development of a community packing and processing facility, and the establishment of a cooperative marketing effort for a network of gatherers, producers, and hunters. Moloka'i Seafarms. ine. (Palau'au). Finfish hatchery activities to support CBED flnfish culture. M A U I Hina-mālailena (Hāna). Construction of a village marketplace for resident-owned businesses and the development of business support services. O ' A H U Boke' Aquaculture Farms (Wai'anae). Culture of freshwater snails for the gourmet market and hydroponically grown taro leaf. Also, development of a community certified kitchen for food processing businesses. Hui Ulu Mea 'Ai (Waiāhole). Development of a food-processing business incubator and business support services at the Waiāhole Poi Factory. w&m mmjm£ rmw om Learn more about communlty-based eeonomie development In a halfbour video produced for OHA by Juniroa Productions."Creatlng the Future" proflles a variety of CBED proJects underway in Hawai'l, and the processes involved in developing and operating them. To obtain a copy of this video for your eommunlty organization, eall 0HA's Eeonomie Development offlce at 586-3850.

Just what is community-based eeonomie development? Community-based eeonomie development is a process and outcome that stems from a community deciding how they want eeonomie development to occur. CBED brings together a range of loeal resources and human skills to undertake eeonomie development projects that helps create meaningful job opportunities, products and services. What makes it different from conventional eeonomie development? Eeonomie development that is directed and controlled by communities places emphasis on building "healthy" eommunities. As a result, development is based on social, cultural, and personal improvement, as well as profit. Development pursued by communities are often based on sustainable, low impact strategies that better the entire community, ratherthan benefit a select few. What do we mean by the term "community"? In this case, the term "community" has most often been used to identify a geographic area such as a neighborhood. Community ean also refer to a group of people that have something in eommon, such as elhnie background or an interest in preserving the environmenL and community ean refer to an eeonomie sector such as farmers, handcrafters, or recycling businesses. What are some examples of CBED efforts in Hawai'i? Examples of enterprises being undertaken by CBED organizations in Hawai'i include the conversion of a poi factory into a community incubator for food processing and agricul-ture-related small businesses; development of a communitybased commercial marketplace; recycling and composting; integrated agriculture/aquaculture/alternate energy; a backyard aquaculture project; and revitalization of Hawaiian fishponds. How ean OHA hdp Hawaiians get started with CBED projeds? Hawaiian community groups or organizations that are interested in finding out more about resources available to support CBED should contact the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Eeonomie Division at 586-3745. You may also wish to eontact the Hawai'i Department of Business, Eeonomie Development and Tourism (DBEDT) at 586-2583, or tbe Hawai'i Allianee for Community-Based Eeonomie Development at 248-7485.

IT IS BOTH A PROCESS AND AN 2|j OUTCOME AND STEMS FHOM \ H , \ ' -V' ' iv\ I COMMUNITY MEMBERS DECIDING HOW THtY WANT ECONOMIC OEVELOPMENT TO OCCUH.

Cy?Tef!t OMA SuppartBl CBED Ejrtefp.isers

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