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Our Mission

We use food, the great connector, to find Common Ground

Common ground to us is where the things we share form the foundation for mutual respect, responsibility, and care. We begin with place, we honor Hawaii’s agricultural legacies, we invest in a circular economy and build a community dedicated to the future of food and society at large, rooted in local practices and forward-thinking global perspectives.

Planting an Agroforest

Turning food waste into products.

The Food Innovation Center

The Food Innovation Center@Common Ground is an initiative to help grow Hawaii’s food economy with a vertically integrated hub that features farming, along with accelerator, incubator and distribution programs.

The Common Ground Marketplace

Find a curation of local products highlighting a new generation of Hawai'i based businesses. Each of these businesses makes a difference in their community or on the ocean, our wildlife, the environment or the keeping of local traditions.

Fishing the way it used to be done.

The Hawaii Brand

Community

We believe that change comes from engaged, energized, curious people who feel a sense of connection and mutual responsibility. Common Ground sets the table for conversations and interactions about how we eat, how we connect, how we solve challenges, and how we leave a better future for this planet.

Makana Weiss

Mike Coots

Shannon Hiramoto Shannon Hiramoto, a Kauaʻi native, founded machinemachine in 2007 with the ahead-of-its-time idea of creating “regenerative fashion,” fed by a deep love for sewing, taught to her by her grandmother. She is well known locally for her early design of brightly hued trucker hats with vintage fabric pieces sewn on with vibrant contrast stitching. Like any great original fashion item, it was quickly mimicked. But like any creative, she kept on creating and evolving and remained a leader in the regenerative fashion industry. Beyond Shannon’s creative talents--which now include writing and illustrating her first children’s book about the fun and magic of thrift store shopping, hoping to pass on “the stoke of sustainable consumerism”-- she also strives to hui, or unite, her local community. In 2015 she began a running commitment to wear a muʻumuʻu the entire month of January, igniting a movement locally. “Muʻumuʻu Month” is now recognized by the State of Hawaiʻi. Across the islands and beyond, the beauty of wearing treasured, recycled and found pieces, like muʻumuʻu, is being celebrated. At Warehouse 3540 in Lāwaʻi, Shannon recently founded Small Craft Advisory, which offers classes, one on one lessons and co-creative work space to foster DIY upcycling fashion. Her own popular “no-new textile” garments offer inspiration for what can be done using upcycled fabric. When asked what she hopes for Kauaʻi’s future, Shannon explains that she imagines “purposeful engagement with each other, the arts, and the land,” and she strives to perpetuate that daily. The future is bright for Shannon Hiramoto on her home island of Kauaʻi. Only she knows what the next local movement, multifaceted studio or fun frock she’ll come up with next.

Cross Roads Pastures Crossroad Pastures was founded by Molly Miller, Jakob Wareham and James Edwards. The partners met on Kauaʻi and bonded over their common upbringing; all three were raised in farm country on properties with long, dirt driveways. The trio recognized the proliferation of big-box pesticide and hormone-filled chicken and decided to produce an alternative that reflected the same quality of chicken they were raised with. They started with a few birds for themselves, focusing mainly on eggs to feed their household as well as broiler chickens. Moving the flock around their garden, they realized that in addition to being a sustainable food source, these pasture-raised chickens were an incredible asset to their soil health. With increased demand for pasture-raised chickens, the partners have recently expanded their business to include egg birds which will provide farm-fresh eggs to their customers. They are striving to create a more regenerative food chain on the Island of Kauaʻi. Common Ground is proud to partner with the Crossroad Pastures team. The Common Ground property even serves as one of the birds’ pastures. The happy chickens roam in their large portable coop which is regularly rotated around the campus, improving soil health while also improving Kauaʻi’s food sovereignty.

A Movement for Common Ground

Building Regenerative Communities

Common Ground Initiative

Every culture, every community has something to offer to the world – lessons we can learn, successes we can build on, and experiences that can help guide us through the challenges of our modern world. Our aim with CGI is to highlight and share the practices that have helped communities persevere and thrive.