Vibrant Hawaiʻi fosters resilience in remote areas of Big Island with 20 new hubs

The Seaview Performing Arts Center for Education, known as SPACE, has become more than just a place for learning and performing circus skills such as acrobatics, juggling, riding a unicycle and walking on stilts.

Now, it also serves as one of Vibrant Hawaiʻi’s 20 new Resilience Hubs, which are located in some of the most secluded areas around the Big Island. These hubs, part of an island-wide network, are central places where community members can come together to address vulnerabilities, increase resilience, and find support during long and short-term emergencies.

In a network of 50 hubs around the Big Island, a hub is especially necessary for a remote place like Seaview because of the added difficulty of receiving timely help from government. Seaview is situated between two massive lava flows in lower Puna and is about a 25-minute drive from Pāhoa.

SPACE has worked with the nonprofit Vibrant Hawaiʻi to put together direct information, such as contact information for local doctors and CPR-certified volunteers, and got access to the satellite internet, Starlink, to help during a disaster.

SPACE also has committed to providing visual arts, music, hula, gardening and circus classes to help with mental and emotional health during through the time of disaster recovery.

“We’re are interested in social resilience that draws in young and old,” said SPACE operations director Paola Vidulich. “With disaster recovery specifically, there is trauma that comes with that, and here, we have the capacity to bring laughter and relief to people who need a reminder that there are other parts of themselves despite the disaster.” 

Another goal for SPACE is growing food resiliency, or making sure there is enough food for the community in case roads are inaccessible during an emergency or disaster. It has started a micro farming and food rescue project for lower Puna.

The project includes a fruit gleaning program where volunteers collect fruits from trees that can not be harvested completely. This fruit is then distributed to community members for free, ultimately reducing food waste and helping people in need.

The hubs are powered by trusted community leaders and operate independently from each other. However, they are now part of a formalized network that can share knowledge, resources, and mutual support through Vibrant Hawaiʻi, which was launched in 2019 to supports residents in creating local solutions to complex issues.

After years of serving her community on her own time and dime, Kathy Matsuda has gotten more support running the Resilience Hub in Kohala after joining the Vibrant Hawaiʻi network last June.

“It’s my job to make sure everyone is prepared, that we have enough food in case of an emergency and everyone has emergency kits,” Matsuda said. “I put my cell phone number out there in the community so they can call me for anything.”

Matsuda said she attended Vibrant Hawaiʻi’s trainings and workshops, becoming connected with other hubs.

“Now, weʻre always learning more from each other,” she said.

With a more networked approach to building up these resilience hubs, neighboring communities build relationships, share resources and are able to respond to one another’s needs.

The Fern Acres Community Association, or Puna Mākaukau, has built up its Resilience Hub over the years by providing a base for activities using an existing community center, partnering with other agencies and groups to create opportunities for the community, and repairing and maintaining approximately 26 miles of collectively owned roadways.

As a Resilience Hub, Fern Acres also has been able to establish a volunteer fire department with a monthly training, a monthly food drop-off from the Hawaiʻi Island Food Basket, a monthly Community Emergency Response Team meeting and a monthly Neighborhood Watch meeting.

“The reality is that at the community level, disasters are felt every day, whether that’s unemployment, food insecurity, finding activities for children,” said Janice Ikeda, CEO of Vibrant Hawai‘i. “There is a beauty and power of community driven resilience hubs. These are spaces where neighbors come together and provide support on a daily basis. It’s those practices of supporting one another, filling gaps, meeting needs that build toward a thriving, resilient community.” 

For several years, Men of Paʻa has been empowering and enabling Native Hawaiian men to reintegrate from the justice system through culture and community personal change. When they joined the Vibrant Hawaiʻi Resilience Hubs, they were able to increase their staff and learn how to better serve the community of lower Puna.

“When we get cut off from a lava flow, or a tree, or have any emergency, we now have machinery out here in Puna that we can use,” said Iopa Maunakea, director of Men of Paʻa. “We have a forklift coming, an excavator we purchased through a grant, chainsaws, tools, and Starlink connection in case there is an emergency.”

“Vibrant Hawaiʻi has given us a way to prepare and properly recover from disasters in case we are unable to access government help,” he continued.

The 2025-2026 network of Resilience Hubs spans all regions of the island and includes the following partners:

• Hawaiian Acres Hub
• Hawaiian Volcano Education and Resilience Institute
• Honokaʻa Resilience Hub
• Hui Mālama i ke Ala Ulili
• Ka’ū Hana Laulima Lāhui ‘O Kaʻū
• Kailapa Community Association
• Kalopā Resilience Hub
• Kohala Resilience Hub
• Kona Resilience Hub
• Nāʻālehu Resilience Hub
• Ocean View Community Center
• Orchidland Neighbors
• Pāhoa Resilience Hub/Kanaka Ha’aheo
• Pepe’ekeo Community Development Corporation
• Puna Mākaukau – Fern Acres
• Seaview Performing Arts Center for Education
• Volcano Emergency Response Team
• Waimea Resilience Hub
• Waipi‘o Valley Resilience Hub
• White Sands Hub

Communities and individuals interested in learning more or participating in these initiatives are encouraged to visit Vibrant Hawai‘i’s website or email contact@vibranthawaii.org.

Editor’s Note: Paola Vidulich is operations director of the Seaview Performing Arts Center for Education. An earlier version had an incorrect title.