Consortium For Hawai'i Ecological Engineering Education

Consortium For Hawai'i Ecological Engineering Education, doing business as Malama 'Aina Foundation, is a Hawaii-based nonprofit organization that operates as a prime recipient of federal grants supporting project-based STEM and literacy education programs integrated with Hawaiian cultural elements and ecological engineering. The organization has received thirteen federal grants totaling $21.1 million since 2011, all in the prime recipient role with no subcontract activity.

Malama 'Aina Foundation's mission centers on preparing communities to excel in STEAM fields by integrating traditional Hawaiian values and modern technologies through project-based learning for high-need students from birth through 12th grade. The foundation delivers urban agriculture, ecological engineering, literacy education, and STEM instruction to students in Honolulu and surrounding areas, with a particular focus on conservation technical assistance and innovative production activities that combine science, math, and cultural elements to improve literacy outcomes.

The organization's customer base concentrates heavily with the Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, which accounts for seven of the twelve awards tracked (reflecting 92% of awards by agency). The remaining activity is split across the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families (two awards), the Department of Housing and Urban Development Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development (one award), and the Department of Agriculture National Resources Conservation Service (one award). Recent representative grants include a $417,000 award from ED's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education on June 1, 2026 (Innovative Approaches to Literacy program, CFDA 84.215) supporting education programs for Kahikina Learning Center through June 1, 2029; a $764,903 project grant from ED on October 1, 2023 (CFDA 84.215) for the Mala Kupono initiative delivering STEM and conservation assistance, completed March 31, 2025; and a project grant awarded September 1, 2023 (completed August 31, 2026) for the Mahope O Ke Kula Steamobile STEM education vehicle. An April 1, 2023 AmeriCorps State and National planning grant under the American Rescue Plan (CFDA not specified) from the Corporation for National Service supported one-year program planning.

Award activity is sparse and episodic: one award in 2018, one in 2020, three in 2021, four in 2023, and one in 2026, with no meaningful trajectory signal. The organization operates entirely within the grant-recipient ecosystem and does not hold or seek federal contracts or contract vehicles.