Mālama Foundation

Education, Training, and Research for a Decentralized Climate Future

A registered nonprofit dedicated to advancing education, workforce training, and open research that enable a decentralized global network for carbon sequestration and long-term ecological resilience.

Why Mālama Foundation Exists

Climate solutions fail to scale not because of a lack of ideas, but because of gaps in:

  • •Skilled local operators and technicians
  • •Open, trusted measurement and verification
  • •Early-stage research-to-deployment pathways
  • •Shared infrastructure for coordination and learning

Mālama Foundation exists to close these gaps by investing in people, systems, and knowledge, not just projects.

Our work bridges science, technology, and place-based stewardship to accelerate credible climate solutions that can operate at planetary scale without losing local accountability.

What We Do

Education & Workforce Training
We build education pathways that prepare the next generation of climate practitioners, technologists, and land stewards.

Focus areas:

  • →Carbon measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV)
  • →Biochar, enhanced weathering, and nature-based sequestration
  • →Sensor networks, data integrity, and open climate infrastructure
  • →Community-based project development and governance
Research & Development
We support applied research that moves climate solutions from theory to deployment.

R&D priorities:

  • →Low-cost, high-integrity carbon measurement methods
  • →Open MRV standards and interoperable data models
  • →Validation of emerging sequestration pathways
  • →Tooling for decentralized monitoring and verification

Research outputs are published openly whenever possible.

Decentralized Climate Network Development
We help design and steward a decentralized network of projects, researchers, and practitioners working toward durable carbon sequestration.

This includes:

  • →Network standards and best practices
  • →Shared digital infrastructure for coordination and learning
  • →Cross-project benchmarking and knowledge exchange
  • →Support for regional hubs aligned with local ecosystems and cultures

Program Areas

Regenerative Land & Agroecology
Supporting land-based carbon sequestration, soil restoration, and climate-resilient food systems through training and research.
Circular Systems & Biomass Utilization
Advancing circular use of biomass and waste streams for carbon removal, soil health, and local economic resilience.
Low-Carbon Industry Enablement
Training and R&D to help small and medium enterprises adopt verifiable low-carbon processes and materials.
Open Climate Infrastructure
Developing shared tools, standards, and learning systems that enable transparent, decentralized climate action.

Flagship Initiatives

Mālama Climate Fellowship
A cohort-based program for practitioners, researchers, and technologists working on real-world sequestration and MRV challenges.
  • →Mentorship from domain experts
  • →Field-based learning and deployment
  • →Research and implementation grants
Mālama Open Research Program
Supports applied research, pilots, and validation studies aligned with durable carbon removal and decentralized MRV.
  • →Open-access publications
  • →Field pilots and datasets
  • →Collaboration with universities and research institutions
Community Training & Capacity Building
Workshops and programs designed for land stewards, operators, and local organizations implementing climate solutions on the ground.

Impact Philosophy

We measure success not only by carbon outcomes, but by:

Skills transferred and retained locally

Systems that remain usable after funding ends

Knowledge that can be reused across regions

Trust built through transparency and verification

Who We Work With

•Land stewards and community organizations
•Researchers and academic institutions
•Climate technologists and builders
•Philanthropic partners and aligned funders
•Public-interest and open-source networks

Get Involved

Support the Foundation

Fund education, training, and open research

Sponsor fellowships or research tracks

Collaborate

Partner on research, curriculum, or pilots

Contribute tools, data, or expertise

Learn

Access open resources and publications

Join upcoming programs and trainings

Contact

Mālama Foundation

[email protected]

Website: malama.foundation