Taken from Seeds of Change
February 2001

Puna Community Trails

Hawaii Project Connects Community by Revamping Trails

Puna Community Trails could someday, literally and figuratively, become the paths most taken in Hawaii. The trails serve as shining examples of how local communities can come together to restore and record history using modern information technology.

"This project kicked off a renaissance about the character of community on the island," said Jon Olson, co-coordinator of the project. "People along miles of rights-of-way have come together to share lifestyles and communicate. The project really creates a linear community."

With support from the Kellogg Foundation's Managing Information with Rural America (MIRA) initiative, the Puna Community Trails project is an outgrowth of Cooper Center Council's efforts based in Volcano, Hawaii.

Specifically, historical narratives of the Puna district have been recorded, and routes once paved with beach stones for travel are being revamped into historical corridors, to capture the ethnography of the region. Ginny Aste, project co-coordinator and MIRA participant, supervised the efforts of more than 100 volunteers who hauled and recycled car parts, cans, bottles and household trash from the 39 miles of trail.

Visitors to Puna Community Trails are invited to take walking or bike tours with a CD headset. And soon, they will be able to carry a map that describes historic sites along the trails. "Ecotourism in Puna is a major addition to the area," says Olson. "We have documented trails that historically provided paths for people traveling to the Puna district and Volcano. Next we plan to restore trails from the mountains to the beach in these non-motorized corridors."

The Cooper Center Council, whose membership includes regular users of Cooper Center in Volcano Community Park, works with the Hawaii Department of Parks and Recreation and uses information technology to connect community councils, service providers and ecotourism businesses.

For more information contact:
Jon Olson or Ginny Aste
Co-coordinators
Puna Community Trails Project
13-631 Leilani Avenue
Pahoa, HI 96778
Ph: 808/965-6093
Fax: 808/965-5454
Email: jon@interpac.net
Website: www.planetpuna.com