Before: Student must choose whether to be considered for "early enrollment" which has places filled as applications are received. If a placement is offered prior to the application due date, the student will have 14 days to secure their spot with a 25% non-refundable tuition deposit. Students may decline early enrollment, however placement is limited and space may fill prior to the application deadline, in this case students will be accepted and waitlisted. If a tuition deposit or payment plan is not received within 14 days of acceptance, student will be moved to the waitlisted, and another student may be offered their position. Our application "due date" is several months in advance of program start dates to allow time for processing paperwork, payment plans and to secure flights.
After: We will continue to accept applications after the due date, on a space-available basis, until a program reaches its capacity. A student may still apply for a program that has reached capacity, if accepted, they will be waitlisted for their preferred program and offered a secured placement in the next available program. When there is space available, we can accept registrations with full payment up to 2 weeks before the program begins.
We welcome day-time visitors on campus with an appointment, accommodation may be available for those wishing to stay over-night. If you would like to plan a visit, please contact us to schedule. Family or friends are welcome to visit students during their program, however they are not permitted to stay in accommodations without advanced approval and should coordinate their visit with our administrative team as needed.
Our classes can be a single block, a full day, or a few sessions over a period of weeks. Our courses our every week for the duration of a program.
Yes, as part of the enrollment process, students must provide proof of major medical insurance coverage in effect for the duration of the course. Additionally, all students must fill out an Emergency Contact Form and Hold Harmless Agreement prior to the course start
We try very hard to keep our program costs as low as possible by offering work trade and scholarship opportunities; we recognize this may not be enough for some students. Our commitment to equity and creating opportunities for students to participate in our programs means entertaining all options. If program costs are truly the only prohibiting factor in a student accepting a placement offer, please reach out to us and see what creative solutions we can come up with.
This is a low-substance environment, meaning responsible consumption of alcohol is permitted by students aged 21 and over. It is illegal to supply alcohol to anyone under the age of 21 and doing so can result in expulsion from our program. The occasional beer or glass of wine is okay, however the consumption of hard liquor and spirits is not permitted on campus for physical and emotional safety reasons. Smoking is permitted in a restricted area only.
We celebrate humans of all kinds and endeavor to create an organization focused on safety, equity, and opportunity for historically harmed, mistreated, and excluded groups including BIPOC, LGBTQIA2S+, people with disabilities, and women. We also know that this commitment requires more than putting well-intentioned words on our website. Some steps we are taking as an organization are:
Requiring Diversity, Equity & Inclusion training for our staff
Welcome/orientation to include sharing our pronouns, indigenous land acknowledgment, equity statement, and student feedback channels
Requiring all students to sign a statement acknowledging their understanding of community expectations for behavior and communication and outlining the consequences for derogatory or inappropriate conduct before arriving on campus
Reviewing community expectations and appropriate conduct during orientation on campus.
Providing multiple means for students to give feedback on their experience at the school so that we can address inequities immediately.
Actively seeking BIPOC individuals to join our teaching team and student body
If you have specific questions or concerns about our policies, please do not hesitate to reach out via email or phone to discuss.
We are not registered as a non-profit and can not provide tax-exempt receipts for any donations. For people or organizations wanting to support our programs, we offer a "sponsor-a-student" program, which directly applies donations toward a student with financial needs. We also accept some special farm donations for our animals and our program which includes agricultural waste like macnuts for animal feed, fresh green waste, compost and other organic materials. We are always collecting building materials, recycled doors, windows, and useable construction materials for our campus projects.
Tuition payments can be made on our website via ACH (free) or Credit Card (includes 2.9% processing fee). You can send paper checks to 92-1329 Prince Kuhio Blvd #115 Captain Cook, HI 96704
When you enroll in your program, we ask for a 25% non-refundable deposit. Additional payments may be refunded up to 30 days before the start of a program. If you need to cancel with less than 30 days notice, we will attempt to fill your place with another student from the waitlist, if we are successful, someone from our administrative team will reach out to arrange an additional refund. In some circumstances, we may be able to apply any payments towards a future program. If you have questions or concerns about our payment process or cancelation policy please reach out to our administrative office.
We recommend purchasing round trip flights. Students are welcome to arrive and depart anytime during a three day window, before and after the their program dates. For example: If the program starts on March 1st, students are welcome to arrive on February 26,27, or 28. Program finishes on May 15th, Students should plan to depart on May 16,17, or 18. Due to the 2 hour drive to campus, we encourage students to arrive and depart in the late morning to early evening. We will provide transportation, picking students up at the airport at the time of their arrival and bringing them to campus. Please confirm your travel itinerary at/or near the time of booking to guarantee accuracy if you have questions.
Shorts and long pants (not jeans, though a pair of those are okay too)
T-shirts, long-sleeved shirts for sun protection, and a hoodie or warm clothes
sturdy working or hiking boots
slippers or cozy socks
wide-brimmed hat for sun-protection
sunglasses, eye glasses and contact lenses
crocs, flipflops or sandals for the beach
Swimwear and a beach towel
sunscreen and bug spray
camera
rain coat
driver's license
adequate supply of prescription medications
a book to read, crochet project, or small craft projects
We endeavor to provide a natural "organic" environment as much as possible. Our crops and food systems are all organic, the feed that we use for our animals is 90% organic (occasionally having to supplement feed based on supply issues), we use organic laundry detergents and some household cleaners. We buy organic at the grocery when available. Shoots, even our pillow cases are organic cotton.