I have begun researching for a very interesting project, and am desperately in need of advice.

There is a minority community living in poverty not far from my home in Kona Hawaii, and I and several others have decided to start a beautification project in their community. The goal is to start a few gardens in the area, vegetables, fruits, etc, and inspire the community to continue the project for themselves long term. Here is the difficulty.

The community is in ocean view on the South point of the island, and is almost entirely lava rock. So far I've discovered that palm trees are successful to break up the rock and I'm hoping that with addition of good soils, the gardens will flourish. I am, however, not sure how to start, what to plant, what problems will arise with the current soils, or any other ways to break down the lava rock without damaging the land.

HELP!!!!!

Any ideas or information, helpful web sites etc would be most appreciated!