NFWF Grant Profile

Wishtoyo Foundation seeks to restore the Wishtoyo Chumash Village (“the Village”), a unique and authentic recreation of a traditional Chumash village built upon an historical 8,000-year-old village site overlooking the pacific ocean in Malibu. The Village has been serving the Chumash community, marginalized youth, inter-tribal groups and general public at large since 1997 and is the only living Chumash cultural village of its kind in Southern California. As the heart of our programming, the Village plays a critical role in instilling environmental stewardship and sustainable ethic by promoting personal connections to natural systems and fostering a sense of responsibility. Ocean and near-ocean recreation plays a critical role in shaping the way view our natural world. As such, Wishtoyo’s cultural and environmental education programs encourage recreation along our coast and in our oceans to bolster environmental efforts and the protection of cultural and natural resources.