Shipping containers for use as shopping centres are no new feat – there’s the originals such as London’s Boxpark, and then there’s Bangkok’s Artbox, Seoul’s Common Ground and Mexico’s Container City to name but a few. And now the sustainable use of shipping containers as shopping malls has extended to Hawaii.

NoKa Fair, located in Kauai’s North Kapaa, opened its doors last year selling local Kauai products and handmade gifts like clothing, jewelry, and home goods.

Nineteen shipping containers have been recycled and repurposed as retail units. Decked out Hawaiian-style, each unit is painted a pastel colour and is retrofitted with french doors to allow the breeze and traffic to flow throughout the boardwalk.

Constructed with sustainability and reusability at the forefront, NoKa Fair was built using what was available on Kauai instead of adding new construction.

Jasper Properties, which owns NoKa Fair, is taking a sustainable approach towards its new portfolio of properties in Kauai. It will launch NoKa Market at the end of this year. Creating a farm-to-table food hall, NoKa Market will have its own working farm on-site, NoKa Farm, which aims to cut out food transportation and transit time.

NoKa Fair

Rosa Medea is Life & Soul Magazine’s Chief. She writes about sustainable lifestyle and green living for publications, and offers content services to planet-friendly businesses. Find out more at Rosamedea.com