The 100² Homegrown FoodForest (aka #10KFoodForests) project addresses three interrelated problems: climate change, food insecurity, and vanishing indigenous knowledge.

In 100 communities on 10,000 sites in the U.S., Hawaii, U.S.-affiliated islands, and internationally, in commemoration of Victory Gardens, we will develop perennial food forests that address food insecurity while providing study sites for phenological observation (study of the relationship between climate and biological phenomena) that inform climate science and adaptation strategies.

Working with K-12 schools, youth groups, tribal and traditional colleges and universities, and the scientific community, our project team will develop a corps of 1,000 student-leaders and 10,000 citizen-scientists over 100 weeks of programming.

Through a synthesis of ancestral knowledge, modern science, and organized phenology study, these corps will learn how to re-localize and rethink food production; reconnect with the rich diversity of biotic resources (food, medicine, materials, beauty); and promote community resilience, environmental stewardship, resource management, and relationship to place.

Upon completion of the project, 10,000 participants in 100 communities will have learned how to grow their own food, how to develop and manage a localized food-sharing economy, and how to observe, record, and report phenological data to systems for scientific analyses. 1,000 new student-leaders (tribal and traditional college/university students) will have learned the art and science of ancestral knowledge pared with modern science, and how to connect with their communities through education, training, and outreach.

Ultimately, 100 communities will increase their levels of food security, their understanding of indigenous phenological research, and their cohesiveness and resilience in the face of climate change.

#10KFoodForests project was submitted to the MacArthur Foundation as part of their 2016 100&Change challenge.

The project core team consists of the following individuals.
Read their bios>

• M. Kalani Souza, Founding Director, Olohana Foundation
• Kalia Lydgate, CEO and Executive Director, Olohana Foundation
• Failautusi Avegalio, Jr., Director, Global Breadfruit Heritage Council, Olohana Foundation
• Craig Elevitch, Director, Agroforestry Net
• Carla Johnson, CEO and Co-Founder, EarthvisionZ
• Daniel R. Wildcat, Director, Haskell Environmental Research Studies Center, Haskell Indian Nations University
• Bob Gough, Esq., Secretary, Intertribal Council On Utility Policy
• Julie Kai Stowell, Owner and President, Lomikai Media