The Dharma Initiative is a scientific research project which conducted its experiments on the Island during the 1970s to early 1990s. The members of the Dharma Initiative was killed in the Purge, at the climax of the conflict between them and the Hostiles. Currently, new attempts are being made to revitalize the organization, by Octagon Global Recruiting.

Questioning Richard: I have realized that we see Richard numerous times in different time periods. He is seen; of course; in present day, in the Others camp. He is also seen back a few years ago when he recruited Juliet into the Others facility.
Richard seems to be in his 30's or early 40's. I can not picture him any older. I am also getting the impression he is deffinitely not older then John. That wouldn't really make sense right?
But it shows when John is a young boy in an orphan home, Richard comes to see him,.
He should be young at that point in time... but he looks exactly like how he does in the present day.
Is this just a mess-up that LOST made?
Or is there a story behind Richard?

History: The Dharma Initiative was founded by Gerald and Karen DeGroot, two doctoral candidates at the University of Michigan, and funded by Alvar Hanso and the Hanso Foundation. On the Island, the Dharma Initiative constructed several stations to conduct their experiments, while staying at the Barracks, a village that was protected by a security fence. The experiments were on meteorology, psychology, parapsychology, zoology, and electromagnetism. According to the Sri Lanka video during the Lost Experience, part of the mission of the Dharma Initiative was research on the Valenzetti Equation, a mathematical formula that calculates the amount of time left for humanity. The Dharma Initiative attempted to change the equation, and did research on the special properties of the Island, to improve mankind.

A conflict arose between the Dharma Initiative and the natives of the Island, known as the Hostiles. The cause behind the conflict is not known. Eventually, the conflict ended, in December 1992 during the wipe out of the Dharma Initiative by the Hostiles, known as the Purge. The Hostiles used toxic gas to kill the members, and their bodies were dumped in a mass grave. Kevin Inman, a member of the Dharma Initiative, survived the attack, due to being sealed in the Swan. He died in 2004, and the Swan since then imploded.

After the Purge, the Dharma Initiative collapsed, but work on the Valenzetti Equation, under Thomas Mittelwerk continued until 2006. The Swan station still receives supplies from the Dharma Initiative, with the last known drop off in December 2004. Recently, in 2008, Octagon Global Recruiting has led an attempt to recruit new personnel for the Dharma Initiative in the Dharma Initiative Recruiting Project, or "The Project" for short.

Dharma Stations: So far, there are nine known stations that were completed by the Dharma Initiative. The stations are the following, listed in alphabetical order.

Station	Station Number	Purpose
The Arrow	Unknown	Mathematics, storage.
The Flame	4 of 6	Communications.
The Hydra	Unknown	Zoological research.
The Looking Glass	Unknown	Radio jammer.
The Orchid	6 of 6	Fake botanical research, time/space traveling.
The Pearl	5 of 6	Psychological research/observation.
The Staff	Unknown	Medical research.
The Swan	3 of 6	Electromagnetic research.
The Tempest	Unknown	Power source, toxic gas containment.

There are other stations that are either never made, or have not been officially confirmed as being part of the Dharma Initiative. These places are The Door and The Temple.

Trivia:

• DHARMA stands for Department of Heuristics And Research on Material Applications.
• In Hinduism, Dharma means "sacred law".

Questions:

• Why couldn't the Dharma Initiative and the Others coexist with each other?
• How did the Dharma Initiative discover the Island?
• Are they responsible, or know anything about the Monster?

See Also:

• Dharma Logos
• Dharma Stations
• Hanso Foundation
• The Others
• The Purge