Lava Land is located in the Ka'u Desert, on the pahoehoe slopes of Mauna Loa, at 4500 feet above sea level- above the clouds. Our campus boasts amazing sunrises, sunsets, and incredible night skies, with endless star-gazing due to our near-zero light pollution. The campus features ocean views of 'South Point" the southern most tip of the Big Island and the USA. The dynamic lava formations create an other-worldly backdrop for our campus, that many have likened to life on Mars. Our neighborhood is even home to a space rover research facility! Because of our higher altitude we experience warm days and cool nights, never experiencing the hot, pesky mosquito weather known to other parts of the island.
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Campus
Campus
The idea for Lava Land started back in 2018, but we didn't break ground until 2021. In these early years, we've focused on building our campus infrastructure, agricultural practices, student accommodations, and community relationships.
Lava Land is 100% off-grid, utilizing solar power with both traditional lead-acid battery systems and modern lithium ion batteries, rain harvesting with multi-staged micron filtration systems and UV water treatment, and biodigesters for biogas production for septic systems. Off-grid means we aren't connected to any utility services, instead we utilize diverse technologies to meet the needs of our campus infrastructure.
Our campus features a renovated tour bus, two vintage campers and an eco house (coming soon!) for students. A container house, built from 80% recycled materials and known as 'The Den,' doubles as a teaching kitchen, incubating and brooding center for baby birds, laundry facilities, study lounge and Instructor housing. There are additional accommodations for instructors who live on campus and provide 24-hour support to our students. Several storage sheds hold garden supplies, tools and teaching materials. An outdoor kitchen is available 24/7 in addition to the kitchenettes in each accommodation. A covered dining area is perfect for enjoying lunch or class lessons.
There are many different animal enclosures around the property, with coops and nesting boxes for around 100 birds including chickens, ducks and turkeys, with additional enclosures for pullets. We have 20-30 rabbits at any given time, with a breeding area, nursery, and a mobile rabbit enclosures that can be moved around the property for soil development. There are two food cultivation teaching areas, one an in-ground potage garden and another for recycled refrigerator raised garden beds. A young fruit orchard with pears, plums, peaches, nectarines, and papayas is already producing fruit and 2 areas have been cultivated for coffee orchards.
There is a lower garden area with dragon fruit, pineapple, apple and peach trees with striking lava flows as far as the eye can see. We have fire pits and out door lounge chairs, breakfast tables with ocean views, a gazebo and the start of a yoga garden. You might expect this campus to be a sprawling farm, but we strive to teach students what can be accomplished on just a couple of acres.
We produce over 60 different varieties of fruits, vegetables, eggs and meat; and what we can't produce, we trade with our community so we have the best of Hawai'i's tropical bounty-avocados, mangos, citrus, and exotic fruits!
2 vintage campers
Renovated Tour Bus
Container House
Eco House
teaching kitchen
Study lounge
outdoor kitchen and BBQ
laundry facilities
Gazebo
rabbit nursery
potager garden
raised gardens
Fruit and coffee orchards
Incubating center
Baby bird brooders
Car repair Shop
Den w/Movie Projector
Fire Pits
The Den
Animal Pens
Lower Garden Area
Chicken Enclosure
Laundry room
A fire pit
Pullet Pen
Pele's Potager Garden
The Shack and Mobile Rabbit Hutch
Weather
Weather
Hawai'i island has 10 of the world's 14 climates, which means we plan for a little of everything, every day. We see low 40s on campus in January, with daily highs in the low 60s; in July we see mid 60s over night and 80 in the day. But don't be fooled, as a high desert location the sun can be very strong. Proper sun protection is highly encouraged. A t-shirt and shorts are possible year round, but when the mist rolls in and the temperature drops suddenly, a hoodie and some pants are more comfortable. We don't often see rain but when we do, it always seems to be in the middle of an important afternoon project, so a raincoat is recommended. By early evening the clouds have cleared and it can be a bit chilly or windy star-gazing or cooking dinner on an open fire.
Ocean View
Ocean View
Our address says Captain Cook, but we are actually located in Ocean View, Hawai'i, the southern region of the Big Island. A colorful community with many unique people, artists, farmers, musicians and dreamers. It is 11,000 acres of lava lots in the the early stages of development with many homesteads, farms and DIY cabins. Our local amenities include: 2 small grocery stores, several restaurants and 3 gas stations. We have a post office, ATM, gift shop, thrift store and a few food trucks depending on the day. For a small town in the middle of the Pacific, it has a little of everything. Students will have the opportunity to "ride down the hill" to get supplies in town a couple times a week, or even take the truck on a water run (with a side quest for ice cream).
Land Acknowledgement
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that the ‘āina (land) on which we operate, is part of the larger territory recognized by Indigenous Hawai'ians as their ancestral grandmother, Papahānaumoku. Hawaiʻi is an indigenous place where the descendants of the original people are today identified as Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawai'ian). We recognize that it was through coercion, force, and the breaking of formal treaties that this land was illegally seized. Her majesty Queen Liliʻuokalani temporarily yielded the Hawai'ian Kingdom and these territories under duress and protest to the United States to avoid the bloodshed of her people. We further recognize that Hawai‘i remains an illegally occupied state of America. We express gratitude for the generations of Indigenous Hawai'ians and their knowledge systems that have shaped and continue to shape Hawaiʻi in a sustainable way that allows us to live and learn here today.
The ʻāina (land) on which Lava Land Institute is located in the ahupuaʻa (land division from mountain to sea) of Kahuku, in the moku (district) of Kona, on the mokupuni (island) of Hawaiʻi, in the Pae ʻĀina o Hawaiʻi (Hawai'ian archipelago). The particular ʻili ʻāina (land division)is currently known as Hawai'ian Ocean View Estates (HOVE). Acknowledging these traditional wahi pana (place names) honors the ‘āina and the historic relationship that Kānaka Maoli have with this place. We are grateful for the opportunity to steward this ‘āina; we recognize our kuleana (responsibility) – as well as our privileges – to care for this ‘āina for the many generations yet to come.
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