Common Ground Kauai

It is here, on the north shore of Kaua'i, that sets the table for conversations and interactions about how we eat, connect, solve challenges, and leave a better future for this planet. Through a lens of both local practices and global perspectives, our campus becomes a platform where intersections can ignite passion and purpose that ripples outward from our immediate circles. We believe food is the great connector. More than any other facet of life, the age-old traditions of food have a tried-and-true ability to bring a diversity of people—presidents, artists, dishwashers, farmers, kama'āina, and visitors—literally under the same roof. As one of humankind’s most basic needs, food provides a space to imagine solutions. Because rethinking our relationship to the economics of food is paramount. We know structural shifts in the business of food are needed to realize these benefits. Common Ground aims to do this by connecting players along the value chain of food supply. We can fortify this bond of great connection through food, bring phenomenal people here, showcase food innovation and community innovation, and prove how societies can find common ground. Common Ground started with planting a tropical agroforest, mimicking a wild forest with multiple tiers of crops, from ‘ulu (breadfruit) to kava, leading to greater biodiversity and more resilience, especially in the face of climate change. Common Ground hopes the agroforest can be a model of regenerative agriculture, a beyond-organic holistic system that builds thriving soil, plants, and humans, with the idea that what is good for one is good for all. We have also built a Food Innovation Center, a community food hub and incubator for farmers and food entrepreneurs. Common Ground has already ushered in its first cohort of Kaua'i businesses to help scale their efforts to reach a larger audience. And eventually, the company plans on building a farm-to-table restaurant to bring in eaters and complete the circle.