Kaua‘i Community College recently received funding to support students who qualify for financial assistance to enroll in two new programs: learning how to grow food and learning how to build a successful business. Details are provided below per a Saturday
Kaua‘i Community College recently received funding to support students who qualify for financial assistance to enroll in two new programs: learning how to grow food and learning how to build a successful business. Details are provided below per a Saturday news release from KCC Program Director Glenn Hontz.
Sustainable Gardening and Farming
Provides training in organic methods of food production. It meets on Thursdays from 1 to 6 p.m. for 14 weeks beginning Sept. 9 and ending Dec. 16. It focuses on sustainable principles and practices of organic gardening and farming.
The program combines classroom instruction with hands-on field experience in successful food production at sites on campus and at locations around the island. It is designed to prepare candidates for successful participation in the expanding network of home, community, and market gardens that are contributing to the goal of food self-sufficiency for the island. Graduates will be assisted to enter productive gardening and farming programs of their choice either individually or as members of a cooperative team.
The instructional program is based on training resources obtained from the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture, the University of California, Santa Cruz’s Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems, and other leading research organizations that specialize in organic farming methods.
The registration fee is $350. Tuition support is available to qualified students. Enrollment is limited to 35 candidates. To register call OCET at (808) 245-8318. For more information contact Paul Massey at paul.massey@ribg.org or (808) 652-4118.
The Entrepreneurial Skills of Business Planning
Provides training in how to integrate principles and practices derived from the essential disciplines of financial planning, business assessment, development, management and marketing and to apply them in creating various kinds of profitable ventures. It meets on Wednesdays from 4 to 7 p.m., for six weeks beginning Sept. 8 and ending Oct. 13.
The methods taught in this program were developed at the Entrepreneurial Education Foundation Center in Denver, Colorado. In the 1990’s, with major grant funding from the Kaufman Foundation, the Center launched an extensive research program that gathered data from leading colleges, universities and business training institutes around the country. A team of experts was assembled to review the data and build it into a program to train a new breed of business leaders to use these skills and knowledge in building successful business enterprises. The core data from this program has been designed into the Entrepreneurship training now offered at Kaua‘i Community College.
The focus is on developing an understanding of the logic and defining characteristics of the entrepreneur, how an entrepreneur determines the feasibility of a new venture, how the venture is planned to increase its successful penetration into a targeted market, and how the entrepreneur builds a dedicated management team to guide the enterprise along a pathway to profitability.
This first six-week introductory module establishes the foundation for other modules that will be offered in the following weeks. They will build on the first module by providing in-depth training in the detailed planning of specific ventures, the skills of business management and growth, and ways to obtain financing for-profit and non-profit ventures. Dates and times for these modules will be announced.
Tuition for the first module in the series, Entrepreneurial Skills of Business Planning, is $90. Enrollment is limited. Tuition assistance is available to qualified applicants.
To register call the KCC OCET office at 245-8318. For more information, contact Hontz at 246-4859 or e-mail at hontz@hawaii.edu.
Candidates for this training may elect to enroll in one or both courses. Those who wish to receive financial assistance are urged to contact Hontz. Funding for this purpose is limited and will be provided on a first-come first-served basis.
