Hawaiʻi Co-op Hui
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Stronger
Together.

A network of people and cooperatives building a regenerative and just Hawaiʻi through shared resources, knowledge, and community ownership.

Join the Movement →

Like the wai that moves from mauka to makai, we believe in an economy where resources circulate, nourish, and return — strengthening our communities for generations to come.

ʻĀina

Care for land and more than human kin

Meaʻai

Local food systems and resilient livelihoods

Waiwai

Keep resources circulating in community

Kaiāulu

Stronger together

ʻIke

Share knowledge and build capacity

Hana

Cooperative practice and collective action

Hawaiʻi Co-op Cohort

A year of learning together.

The Hawaiʻi Co-op Cohort is a WSARE grant-supported learning community for folks who are building, strengthening, or supporting agricultural cooperatives across Hawaiʻi.

December 2026 – November 2027

Monthly virtual sessions + in-person workshops on Hawaiʻi Island, Molokaʻi, Oʻahu and Maui

For producers, co-op members and leaders, emerging co-ops, and cooperative development practitioners

You don't need a co-op yet, or the vocabulary — just something you're working on and a wish to do it with others.

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He ʻĀina
He Lāhui
He Waiwai

Waiwai · Kaiāulu

A business owned by the people it serves.

You don't need to know the word "cooperative" to understand the idea. If you've ever lived in a family house where everybody chips in and everybody has a say, you already get it.

What is a co-op?

What it is. A co-op is a business owned by the people who use it or work in it — not outside investors. Members put in money or work, vote on the big decisions, and share the surplus.

Why it works. One owner carries all the risk. In a co-op, risk and reward are shared, every member gets one vote, and everyone is genuinely invested.

Why here. Laulima — many hands working together. A co-op is the legal structure for the same thing, and it keeps waiwai home, circulating in the kaiāulu instead of leaving.

The seven co-op principles

Set out by the International Cooperative Alliance and shared by co-ops around the world.

Open membership One member, one vote Members share the surplus Members stay in charge Keep learning together Co-ops help co-ops Care for the community
What a co-op can look like in Hawaiʻi

Four common shapes, each with a made-up Hawaiʻi example.

Producer or marketing co-op

Each member keeps their own farm; together they own the shared piece — a brand, a cooler, a truck, a wholesale relationship. Think: a valley of small farms that can't each fill a big order alone, selling under one name.

Owned by the farms or ranches that sell through it

Worker-owned co-op

The crew owns the business and votes on how it runs. Think: a shared kitchen turning kalo, ʻulu, and surplus fruit into products, where the people who show up every morning are also the owners.

Owned by the people who do the work

Shared services or purchasing co-op

Members pool buying power or share big-ticket things no single farm needs full time. Think: ranchers going in together on feed, fencing, and a portable chute, or growers sharing one bookkeeper.

Owned by the businesses that use it

Multi-stakeholder co-op

Farmers, workers, and community members each hold a seat. Think: a food hub where the growers who supply it, the staff who run it, and the families who buy from it all elect the board.

Owned by more than one kind of member

What the cohort is aiming for
  • Co-op literacy. We'll work on being able to explain what a co-op is, which kind fits your situation, and what it takes to run one.
  • Skills to run a business with other people. We'll practice how members make decisions, govern together, and keep the thing running when there's more than one owner.
  • Pilina across the pae ʻāina. Pilina means relationship, or connection, and the pae ʻāina is the whole island chain. Our aim is that you leave with people on other islands doing the same work — people you can actually call.
  • Support for your real project. Our aim is that you bring what you're working on — a co-op you're starting, strengthening, or helping — and get to work it through with others.
  • The Hui after the cohort. The cohort ends in November 2027; the Hui doesn't. The Hui is a network, not a one-year program, and the cohort is one way in.
Who the cohort is for

Producers

Farmers, ranchers, growers, and other producers who want to work together instead of alone.

Co-op members and leaders

People already in a cooperative who want to make it stronger.

Emerging co-ops

Groups that are forming, or thinking about it, and don't want to guess their way through.

Cooperative development practitioners

The advisors, organizers, and technical-assistance folks who help co-ops start and grow.

Our Work

Strengthening an ecosystem of cooperatives across Hawaiʻi

The Hawaiʻi Co-op Hui connects people, organizations, and resources to grow a thriving cooperative economy rooted in ʻāina, culture, and community self-determination.

About Our Work →
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Build

Support real projects, infrastructure, and community ownership.

Get involved →

E komo mai

Tell us what you're growing.

Curious about the cohort, thinking about a co-op, or already in one? Start here — this isn't a commitment, it just lets us know you're out there.

Prefer email? Write to kaimi@purplemaia.org.

How would you like to connect? (check all that apply)

We'll use this to reach you about the Hui and the cohort. We won't sell it or share it for anything else.