A CH³ initiative
Black Gold Project
From scraps to soil. From soil to food. From food to health.
The Black Gold Project is a free community composting, food justice, and ʻāina-stewardship initiative serving Koʻolauloa and the North Shore. It helps households turn everyday food scraps into "black gold" — living, nutrient-rich soil — and use it to grow food, restore the land, and strengthen community resilience from the ground up. Composting isn’t just a way to handle waste; it’s a regenerative act that mirrors healing itself — breaking down what no longer serves us and transforming it into nourishment.
Why It Matters
Black Gold responds to concerns about soil health shaped by generations of intensive agriculture, alongside the continuing challenges of high food costs, reliance on imported food, and organic waste entering the landfill. Black Gold works on all of it at once — at the household level, where change is realistic and lasting: less waste, healthier soil, more fresh food, and a renewed relationship to the land.
How It Works
Black Gold grows through a simple, supported cycle: waste → compost → living soil → food → health → community → stewardship. In practice:
Get set up
Participating households receive a compost bin starter and hands-on training in composting food scraps, managing moisture, and troubleshooting.
Get coached
Regular check-ins keep it going, solving problems and sustaining momentum through relationships and accountability.
Grow
Finished compost is used to grow priority foods like avocado, mango, sweet potato, and greens, with guidance and youth stewardship roles.
Harvest & share
Households share harvests, plant starts, and lessons, and celebrate what the community grew together.
Regenerate
Over time, the vision grows toward compost co-ops, seedling exchanges, and reinvesting in youth education.
Rooted in Culture and ʻĀina
For many keiki, food is only ever a packaged product from a store. Black Gold restores the understanding of food as a living process — teaching where food really comes from, building respect for land and labor, and reconnecting community to the cultural value of kuleana (responsibility) and stewardship of ʻāina. Working with soil can also offer a grounding way to reconnect with ʻāina.
Where It Came From
The Black Gold Project grew out of R.I.C.E., CH³'s first program, which wove together healing movement and food-and-land work. As the food-and-ʻāina side grew, it became the Black Gold Project. (R.I.C.E. is part of CH³'s origin story, not a current program.)
Informed by Advisor Expertise
Black Gold is informed by CH³ advisor D.S. "Dee" Epperson, whose experience includes composting, soil biology, and regenerative systems.
What Our Pilot Taught Us(early pilot results, not final outcomes)
In May 2025, CH³ distributed 20 compost-bin starters to participating households. In a sample connected with five active bins, CH³ documented 45 plants and starts, including mango, avocado, sweet potato, papaya, and green onion. The pilot also showed that distributing equipment alone is not enough to support lasting participation. Consistent education, practical troubleshooting, check-ins, and community support were identified as priorities and now help shape the developing program model.
Free for Households
The Black Gold Project is free for participating households. CH³ welcomes grants, contracts, sponsorships, donations, and partner funding that keep it free and growing.
From Scraps to Growth
Turn Waste Into Life
Whether you're a household ready to compost, a school or community organization, or a funder or sponsor who wants to help the work grow, reach out — let's build healthier soil, food, and community together.