A portion of the property in and adjacent to the Bond Historic District in North Kohala has been reserved for a Contemplative Education Center (CEC). The CEC campus will include adaptive re-use of the historic Kohala Girls’ School (KGS), built in 1874 by missionary Elias Bond to provide educational and spiritual sustenance for members of the community. The legacy of the KGS provides an ideal setting for NMF’s vision. Future plans for the CEC campus include single and multi-day programs, meeting, conference and special event space, focusing on healing encounters, leadership, land stewardship, and community needs for up to 80 residential and 20 day guests. The Contemplative Education Center, along with the vast acreage Iole stewards, will play an essential role in supporting our mission.
The CEC campus plans are in harmony with historic preservation efforts at the former Girls’ School, and New Moon Foundation has taken great effort to preserve the building exteriors and the interior of the Dining Hall, structural elements that have maintained their historic integrity throughout the various uses of the buildings over the past century. There are seven buildings that make up the CEC campus. These include a three story dormitory, an infirmary, a bake house, a chapel, three small residential buildings, and the dining hall.
Prior to the acquisition in 1999, the KGS buildings received little maintenance and were deteriorating rapidly. We has been working with historic architects and contractors, in consultation with the State Historic Preservation Division (SHPD), to restore and renovate the structures, thus far spending over $1.3 M to stabilize the buildings. We are happy to report that no damage was sustained by any of the campus buildings due to the 2006 earthquake.
A Special Permit for Use was granted in May 2006, and we have recently received necessary building permits for the renovation of the KGS interiors, Welcome Center and Administrative buildings. Until we can raise adequate funds for this renovation, the CEC campus is not available to the public.