The Compatible Development project will assist virtually every business on the island, either directly or indirectly. The eventual plan will incorporate diverse local services and businesses, both existing and new. A priority objective is the redevelopment of the Molokai Ranch's Kaluakoi Resort, which formerly employed 110 people and is currently closed. With the reopening of Kaluakoi Resort alone, 50-110 of lost jobs will be reinstated. Reopening of the resort would inevitably strengthen other businesses and the local economy.

Revitalization of Kaluakoi Resort is only one component of the project. Further development of Molokai Ranch lands will create additional jobs in the production and service sectors. It is likely that local entrepreneurship will increase and that existing businesses will have the ability to hire additional people. As an auxiliary objective, its design would foster knowledge and skills necessary for residents to be advocates for economic self-reliance, to develop funding resources, and to initiate job creation. Thus it would lead to greater, more effective local leadership.

Reason for Need

The project is vital to lifting the island of Molokai out of its long-standing economic depression and reliance on government subsidies of various kinds. The island of Molokai is undergoing fundamental structural change in the local economy. Molokai's only major resort closed in 2000. Further negative economic impacts have been caused within the last year by the bankruptcy of Coffees of Hawaii, the pull-out of Budget Rent-A-Car, and downsizing of the island's only hospital. In the 1970s and 80s, the economy of the island was devastated when its only major industry and primary employment collapsed, with the closing of two pineapple plantations. There has been no commercial or economic venture to fill this void. Today, the primary industry is government.

EC Support

EC funding has been instrumental in providing technical support for the drafting and coordinating for the Community-based Master Land Use Plan for Molokai Ranch, which includes the redevelopment of Kaluakoi Resort. This document has required over 100 meetings of planning involving over 1,000 Molokai residents. In addition, EC funding has also supported the Alternative to La`au Development Committee to explore income-generating options needed to reopen the Kaluakoi Hotel.

Photo: Kaluakoi Resort beach front © Rikki Cooke, III