OHA attended the festival at the invitation of the mayors of the island’s three municipalities: Tavana (Mayor) Matahi Brotherson of Uturoa; Tavana Thomas Moutame of Taputapuātea; and Tavana Cyril Tetuanui of Tamarau.

The Hawaiʻi delegation also included representatives from Kamehameha Schools (KS) led by Dr. Randie Fong, and esteemed cultural practitioners and language experts Dr. Larry Kimura, Dr. Kalena Silva, Dr. Kekoa Harman, Pelehonuamea Harman, and renowned artisan Kanaʻe Keawe.

The relationship between OHA, Kamehameha, and Raʻiātea follows the signing of a Cultural Heritage, Education, and Community Exchange Agreement between Raʻiātea and Hawaiʻi in January 2025. The agreement underscores a shared commitment to friendship, cultural preservation and mutual understanding and support.

Heiva Raromataʻi was a four-day celebration of culture – with music, dance and oratory from sunset to midnight every evening. Mornings and afternoons included cultural workshops plus good natured, uniquely Polynesian competitions such as “Te Timau Raʻau” – a race performed while carrying loads of fruit.

Participation in the Heiva Raromataʻi festival in Raʻiātea nurtured spiritual, cultural and political ties within Polynesia

1 of 16

The annual event brings together participants from across Māʻohi Nui. With the inclusion of representatives from the three “corners” of Polynesia – Aotearoa (New Zealand), Rapa Nui (Easter Island), and Hawaiʻi – this year’s event carried special significance, as the island of Raʻiātea, is considered the piko (center) of the Polynesian “triangle.”

“OHA’s participation in Heiva Raromataʻi was a powerful reminder of our shared cultural bonds across Polynesia,” said Kahele. “From the warmth of the Raʻiātea communities that hosted the more than 3,000 people who attended, to the honor of our delegation joining with them in song and dance, we witnessed the living strength of our Moananuiākea connections.”

On the third day of the festival, Hawaiʻi’s delegation hosted an afternoon event, “Celebration of Hawaiian Culture,” that included a brief opening protocol with mele, pule and a welcome by Kimura. Guests from the community relaxed to kanikapila-style music provided by OHA trustees Kahele, Vice Chair Keoni Souza, Chair Emerita Carmen “Hulu” Lindsey, Fong, and Uncle Danny Akaka – accompanied by many impromptu hula.

The event also included workshops such as Traditional Hawaiian Chant and Dance by Silva and Kekoa Harman; Traditional Drum-making Techniques by Keawe; Hawaiian Language Revival and Comparisons with Tahitian Language by Kimura and Pelehonuamea Harman; Traditional Feather Lei-making and Hair Adornments by Kilinahe Coleman; and Background and Use of ʻAwa in Ceremony and Social Engagements by Lāiana Kanoa-Wong.

“Hosting the cultural exchange affirmed that the ties between Hawaiʻi, Raʻiātea, Rapa Nui, Aotearoa and all our Pacific cousins remain unbroken. We shared our soul,” said Ferreira.

“Through ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, hula, and ʻike Hawaiʻi, we reaffirmed identity and deepened our connection to place. These are not just traditions, they are our inheritance, and our gift to our beloved cousins in Raʻiātea.”

The fourth and final day of the festival dawned with rainstorms and gusty winds – but that did not dampen the enthusiasm of the thousands who gathered that morning at Taputapuātea Marae to witness the signing of another Charter of Cultural Heritage, Education and Community Exchange that this time also included Indigenous leaders from Aotearoa and Rapa Nui.

Conducting the ceremony at Taputapuātea, the sacred marae on the eastern coast of Raʻiātea, was deeply meaningful and symbolic. Considered to be at the very center of Polynesia, Taputapuātea is believed to be where the world of the living (Te Ao) intersects with the world of the ancestors and gods (Te Pō). Taputapuātea Marae is also recognized as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site.

The ceremony included traditional protocol, pule, oli, mele and oration. Speaking on behalf of Hawaiʻi was Kimura, while Fong spoke on behalf of Kamehameha Schools and Silva offered an oli. Kahele and Fong signed the charter on behalf of Hawaiʻi.

“Standing at Taputapuātea Marae with our partners at Kamehameha Schools, we signed a charter committing to the perpetuation of language and culture, enshrining this relationship for future generations,” said Kahele.

“Over the next decade, I see this partnership deepening through exchanges, resource- sharing, and collective advocacy, ensuring our languages and practices not only survive, but thrive.”

“Signing the charter at Taputapuātea was a profound affirmation of our shared identity and purpose,” added Ferreira.

“Through subsequent gatherings, we will not only build our pilina, but a network of collective leadership to address the pressing issues facing Indigenous peoples and seize the opportunities that will allow us to thrive, honor our kūpuna, and shape a future where Pacific peoples will rise together.”

As it happened, Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia and their crews were in French Polynesia at the same time as Hawaiʻi’s delegation to the festival, resting between the 13th and 14th legs of the Moananuiākea Voyage.

This afforded an opportunity for the Hawaiʻi delegation to join the Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS) at a 50th Birthday celebration for Hōkūleʻa hosted by the village of Tautira on the east coast of Tahiti Island. Tautira shares a special connection with PVS, having hosted Hōkūleʻa and her crew many times over the last five decades.

This most recent visit honored and continued that legacy of friendship. The celebration included a gravesite remembrance honoring Tautira kūpuna, now departed, who first welcomed Hōkūleʻa to Tahiti, along with the sharing of moʻolelo, mele, dance, and a video presentation about the enduring relationship between Tautira, PVS and Hōkūleʻa.

During their brief stay in Papeʻete, Tahiti, Kahele and Souza also met with Assemblée de la Polynésie Française (Assembly of French Polynesia) President Antony Géros and some of his staff. Géros is the leader of the pro-independence party Tavini Huiraʻatira (the current ruling party that enjoys a super majority in the assembly).

During an hour-long meeting, the leaders discussed their shared concerns, such as our respective challenges regarding self-determination, economics and education, with Géros noting that the Pacific region has recently begun attracting increased, and unwanted, attention from world powers.

Following the meeting with Géros, Kahele and Souza met with assembly member Steve Chailloux. Their discussions with Chailloux centered on challenges Māʻohi Nui faces with declining fluency in their Indigenous languages (reo Māʻohi) among their young people.

Despite retaining an Indigenous ethnic majority of about 85%, as an “overseas collectivity” of France, the only official language of “French Polynesia” – which includes the Society Islands, the Marquesas Islands, The Austral Islands, The Gambier Islands and the Tuamotus – is French.

And because educational funding comes from France, there is little support for bilingual education. This is further complicated because each of the five island groups that comprise Māʻohi Nui have their own distinct languages (see related article).

“Hawaiʻi’s future with other Polynesian and Indigenous governments lies in building parity and collective strength – politically, economically, and culturally. By sharing language resources, holding recurring forums, and rooting our efforts in the kuleana to our children and places, we can both safeguard our own ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi and stand in solidarity with Tahiti’s fight to keep reo Māʻohi alive for generations to come,” Kahele noted.

Reflecting on OHA’s journey to Raʻiātea, Ferreira said that it was a privilege to have been welcomed there and that it was “a meaningful step in strengthening our connections and continuing to share in this legacy of cultural pride and unity.

“Engaging in international affairs across Moananuiākea is not just diplomacy – it is the restoration of ancestral pilina,” she added.

“Our participation in Heiva Raromataʻi was a reaffirmation of an ancient kinship that binds Hawaiʻi and Raʻiātea through shared language, heritage, and values,” Farden asserted.

“By enshrining this relationship in the charter, we are ensuring that the spiritual, cultural, and political ties between our peoples will be nurtured and strengthened for generations. In the next decade, I envision this bond becoming a living bridge – one that supports joint cultural renewal, language growth, and the shared defense of our ancestral legacies.”

The post The Ties That Bind Us appeared first on Ka Wai Ola.

“We are living the dream that was here for us when our kūpuna made the loʻi. And we’re supposed to take care of it; it’s up to us to restore it. Because the past is here now.”

The ahupuaʻa (land division) of Heʻeia is in the moku (district) of Koʻolaupoko on Oʻahu between the ahupuaʻa of Kāneʻohe and Kahaluʻu.

Kaluhiwa is a lineal descendant of Heʻeia whose ancestors were konohiki (land managers) for the region. She joyfully refers to herself as an “ʻāina advocate.”

Now in her 80s, Kaluhiwa, the first vice president of Koʻolaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club, is a respected kūpuna and community leader who has been on the frontlines of efforts to protect Heʻeia for six decades – and she is still actively working on behalf of her community as a board member of the Heʻeia National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR).

Established in 2017, the Heʻeia NERR has emerged as a model for ma uka to ma kai sustainability, effectively reviving and restoring traditional ahupuaʻa methods of conservation and land management with practical application for the 21st century.

But its success story really begins in the 1960s.

The fight to save Heʻeia

Statehood encouraged the rapid suburbanization of Koʻolaupoko, especially in Kāneʻohe and Kailua. New construction was rampant in the 1960s and 70s, with modern residential developments and their cookie-cutter houses, forever changing the rural character of these communities.

New subdivisions sprouted in Kāneʻohe like mushrooms and soon suburbia found its way to Heʻeia. Long-time residents were evicted from their homes – sometimes with only a few weeks notice – to make way for new subdivisions with fancy names like “Aliʻi Bluffs” and “Crown Terrace.”

But in 1965 when the Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) proposed building a power plant in Heʻeia to support the influx of new housing, the community banded together in staunch opposition to the plan.

Empowered by the burgeoning Hawaiian “renaissance,” the community resisted all attempts at any further development in Heʻeia – which, in addition to a power plant, included plans for a marina, a golf course, and thousands more homes. For decades, community advocates spent countless hours organizing, protesting, and sitting in courtrooms.

“We had to fight – and we fought hard,” Kaluhiwa recalled. “We went through so many courts, so many years. It cost us. We had legal aid, but all the other small stuff we had to pay out of our pockets. We lost a lot of money. But it was worth it. If I had to do it again, I’d do it again.”

Their fight is a David and Goliath story of tenacity, courage and sacrifice by people like Kaluhiwa and her late husband, Jerry, Aunty Alice Hewett, and so many others.

Their resistance paid off.

In 1991, a land swap deal was brokered between Heʻeia landowner Kamehameha Schools (KS) and the State of Hawaiʻi: the state traded a 3-acre parcel of land in Kakaʻako for KS’ 420-acre Heʻeia wetlands. Oversight of the wetlands went to the state’s Hawaiʻi Community Development Authority (HCDA). The community could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

A shift from development to conservation

During the 1990 legislative session, a Kāneʻohe Bay Master Planning Task Force was established to develop a comprehensive master plan for the bay.

Completed in 1992, the plan focused on sustainable use of the bay’s resources and balancing ecological integrity, cultural preservation, aesthetics and economic use. It also recommended the creation of a National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR).

In 1993, the Kāneʻohe Bay Regional Council was established. It includes neighborhood board representatives, the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB), fishers and other commercial interests operating in the bay, and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Among other things, the council is tasked to facilitate implementation of the master plan.

1 of 5

In 2001, Paepae o Heʻeia was founded by a group of eight young Hawaiians with a vision to restore and maintain Heʻeia Fishpond to feed the community. They established a partnership with landowner Kamehameha Schools to manage the loko iʻa.

Then in 2010, HCDA signed a 38-year lease with community nonprofit Kākoʻo ʻŌiwi to restore the Heʻeia wetlands. The following year, Act 210 was signed into law creating the Heʻeia Community Development District to facilitate culturally appropriate agriculture, education and natural resource restoration and management of the wetlands.

And 25 years after the Kāneʻohe Bay Master Plan was completed, on Jan. 17, 2017, the Heʻeia National Estuarine Research Reserve was established.

A new co-management model

The National Estuarine Research Reserve system is a federally funded program through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that functions as a collaborative management agreement between the federal government and states with NERR designated areas; the feds fund the research, stewardship and educational programs while states are responsible for operations, implementation and outcomes.

Managed by HIMB, Heʻeia NERR was the 29th such reserve designated – the only one in Hawaiʻi – and the first to include its region’s Indigenous community.

When HIMB began planning for Heʻeia NERR about 15 years ago, four Native Hawaiian organizations active in Heʻeia – Koʻolaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club, the Koʻolau Foundation, Paepae o Heʻeia, and Kākoʻo ʻŌiwi – were consulted. Once Heʻeia NERR was formally established, leaders from these organizations became members of the NERR’s Reserve Advisory Board.

Their participation was key to incorporation of the ahupuaʻa concept of stewarding ʻāina from the mountains to the sea into the Heʻeia NERR management plan – an element unique in the NERR system which heretofore focused exclusively on coastal areas.

Heʻeia NERR is also set apart by its integration of Indigenous knowledge and western science in its stewardship practices to nourish healthy and resilient ecosystems, economies and communities.

Speaking to the advantage of this collaboration, Dr. Kawika Winter, director of Heʻeia NERR said, “These community organizations are [each] focused on their own missions and don’t have limitless bandwidth. But together we are helping bring ahupuaʻa stewardship back to Heʻeia.

“The long-term vision is food security. But we also have a lot of endangered species around here, endangered waterbirds. Those need to be abundant again. Our forests and streams need to be healthier. Reefs need to be full of fish. My vision is ʻāina momona. It will help us create the world we need to live in.”

Getting the giant to lift stones

In 2018, Winter, a biocultural ecologist, had been working as the director of Limahuli Garden and Preserve in Hāʻena, Kauaʻi, for more than 13 years when he had to move back to Oʻahu for family reasons.

That same year the job for director of the Heʻeia NERR was posted. It was a faculty position through HIMB located at Moku o Loʻe (“Coconut Island”) in Kāneʻohe Bay.

Born and raised in Ahupuaʻa Waiʻalae on Oʻahu, Winter lists his tūtū hoʻokama – his adoptive grandfather Eddie Kaanaana, and his kumu hula John Kaʻimikaua as key influences in his life.

So as perfect as the position with NERR sounded, Winter had reservations about applying. “I was an activist and I spent a lot of time fighting the presence of the federal government here in Hawaiʻi,” he said. “So when this job came up I was thinking, wow, running a federally funded research program in a Native Hawaiian community sounds like career suicide. Why would I ever do that?”

Involvement with the state or federal government has usually resulted in loss for Native Hawaiians; it’s a legacy of intergenerational trauma. “Not everyone is comfortable with the idea of co-managing – or doing anything – with the state or federal government,” Winter said.

But as he looked at the genesis of the movement to save Heʻeia, and all that was accomplished, “the lesson I learned from the kūpuna in this community is ʻdon’t let the sins of the system get in the way of figuring out how to get the system to work for you.’

“Maybe if we talk to the giant, we can get it to lift stones for us and help us rebuild our walls.”

From the mountains…

Koʻolau Foundation President Māhealani Cypher has always lived in Koʻolaupoko. A former editor with the Windward Sun Press, her community advocacy began with the Stop H-3 Association in the 1970s.

After the H-3 freeway was opened, the association reinvented itself as the Koʻolau Foundation, a community organization affiliated with Koʻolaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club dedicated to the preservation of historic sites and cultural properties.

For decades they have been working deep in Haʻikū Valley, where Ahupuaʻa Heʻeia begins, to restore the native forest and sacred cultural sites in the valley affected by construction of the H-3. “The cultural complex in the valley was never recognized by the State of Hawaiʻi or the Bishop Museum when they did the research for H-3,” said Cypher noting that impacts of the freeway on cultural sites in Haʻikū were never mitigated.

1 of 3

“There are at least three heiau: Kāne a me Kanaloa, then Kānehekili at the top. The three flow into the piko (center) of the valley, which forms an amphitheater. So we invite people up there to work on the ʻāina and strengthen their mana through that work,” Cypher shared.

Koʻolau Foundation works in concert with two other Hawaiian organizations active in the valley that are important contributors to the restoration of Ahupuaʻa Heʻeia: nonprofit Papahana Kuaola, a mālama ʻāina-based education organization focused on economic sustainability and environmental health, and for-profit Hui Kū Maoli Ola, the premiere native Hawaiian plant nursery that also specializes in natural habitat restoration. The organizations were co-founded and are co-owned by ʻŌiwi ʻāina advocates Rick Barboza and Kapalikū Schirman.

Cypher is optimistic that, with all the nonprofits involved in ʻāina work ma uka to ma kai in Ahupuaʻa Heʻeia, someday soon there will be greater capacity to feed the community.

“NERR is a really important collaboration of public and private organizations coming together,” Cypher added. “Their research in this ahupuaʻa on the health of the ʻāina is very important. What Iʻm hoping is that we have an ahupuaʻa that is vitally alive and flourishing and able to do much good, not just for the future, but for current generations.”

Restoring Heʻeia’s breadbasket

“Our people were amazing scientists,” said Kākoʻo ʻŌiwi Executive Director Kānekoa Kūkea-Shultz. He is talking about the way that our ancestors managed water flow in the loʻi kalo.

“It was just ingenious. When it flooded, the energy flow was dissipated throughout the entire system creating a sponge impact on our ma uka lands, which transferred to creating more loʻis and more springs – which meant more productivity in the ocean. More life. More momona. Ola ka wai – it’s all there.”

Born and raised in Waimalu, Oʻahu, Kūkea-Shultz’s ʻohana are originally from Lahaina and Waikapū, Maui, and Kohala and Waimea on Hawaiʻi Island. A conservation scientist whose master’s thesis was about limu, he is one of the eight young Hawaiians who helped found Paepae o Heʻeia in 2001.

He transitioned from loko iʻa to loʻi kalo after taking on the kuleana for Kākoʻo ʻŌiwi 15 years ago. The 405-acre parcel he manages includes 300 acres of wetland and 100 acres of hillside. His team is currently working to clear the invasive albizia trees that have taken over the hillside and so far about 60 acres of wetland have been cleared with 12 acres of loʻi in active production.

1 of 7

“If you look at the history of Heʻeia, there was a significant need to create a food supply, economic development and mālama ʻāina,” Kūkea-Shultz reflected. “We felt that with the support of NERR, we had a chance to really make it momona again. If we can revisit those loʻi systems, we can hopefully activate and regenerate the waiwai (wealth) that comes with kalo.”

One huge problem for Kākoʻo ʻŌiwi is water. “We don’t have enough water here to cultivate 300 acres of land. We are owed a lot of water from the diversions. Red Hill shut down 25% of our water. It’s not like our family on the other side don’t deserve it. It’s an island. Has to be pilina. But we need more water.”

In addition to kalo, the farm currently produces ʻulu, banana, ʻōlena (turmeric) and mushrooms. “We tried a lot of different products but kalo is still king in terms of resilience to flooding,” Kūkea-Shultz said. “Kalo can provide so many resources – habitat for endangered birds, habitat for endangered fish, habitat for endangered people. Our older brother is taking care of us.”

1 of 5

With a commitment to provide the community with sustainably farmed fresh produce and poi, Kākoʻo ʻŌiwi has built a poi mill and certified kitchen and has a small store that is open on Fridays and Saturdays.

“The market was a way to start generating the economic systems that are needed to engage in that circular economy and have the ability to feed our families really good, locally grown organic food from Hawaiʻi so that multiplier impact stays within Hawaiʻi versus getting shipped away,” Kūkea-Shultz explained.

The farm also includes a strong educational component and welcomes volunteer groups from schools and others from the community. With its small staff, Kākoʻo ʻŌiwi values the labor that volunteers contribute.

The farm currently employs about 40 people. Kūkea-Shultz said he needs twice that to achieve their vision.

To the sea

Hiʻilei Kawelo and Keliʻi Kotubetey were in their early 20s when they helped to found the private nonprofit Paepae o Heʻeia 25 years ago. Their vision then – and now – was to restore and manage the 88-acre Heʻeia Fishpond, the second largest active loko iʻa remaining in Kāneʻohe Bay, and someday provide food for the community.

They were part of a hui of young people that also included Kalikolīhau Hannahs, brothers Kalā and Kawai Hoe, Kānekoa Kūkea-Shultz, Mahina Paishon and Ānuenue Punua. Neither Kawelo nor Kotubetey, now the nonprofit’s executive director and assistant executive director, respectively, knew anything about managing a fishpond growing up.

Kawelo, who has a degree in zoology, was introduced to Heʻeia Fishpond in the late 90s. “There was a course at UH Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies called ʻmālama loko iʻa’ and it was being taught by Mary Brooks, a previous lessee of the fishpond,” she recalled. “My family is from Kahaluʻu and I grew up not knowing anything about this fishpond – and it was in our backyard.”

Kotubetey was raised in the ahupuaʻa of Opana on the north shore of Oʻahu, but moved to Kailua as a teenager. He attended college on the continent earning degrees in economics and business management and, after returning home, he happened to be invited by the friend of a friend to come check out the fishpond.

“Us 20-somethings all came together around the same time,” said Kotubetey. “So even though we found each other, the kūpuna and ʻaumākua found us as well.”

In addition to community leaders and kūpuna, the hui was mentored by Kamehameha Schools staff like Ulalia Woodside who headed the schools’ ʻĀina Ulu program, and Neil Hannahs who was director of the Land Assets Division. “Uncle Neil helped spark our organization,” said Kotubetey. “He was a big part of our founding.”

“I feel like Kamehameha Schools cultivated us to take on this kuleana,” Kawelo added.

1 of 9

Heʻeia Fishpond is a loko kuapā, a fishpond completely encircled by about 1.3 miles of wall. So the first step in restoring the fishpond was removing the invasive mangrove that had overrun its wall. Mangrove was introduced to Oʻahu in 1922 by sugar planters to mitigate sediment runoff. Since 2001, with the help of thousands of volunteers, they have cleared over 10 acres of mangrove. The last 1.5 acres will be cleared this year.

As the mangrove trees were laboriously removed, and the 800-year-old fishpond wall became visible, it was slowly rebuilt. “The wall was in various stages of disrepair,” said Kotubetey. “Some areas were quite good and we only needed one or two rocks. In other areas we had to repair 90% of the wall.”

But repairing fishpond walls was a new skill set. They reached out to folks with experience in fishpond restoration like Joe Farber, Graydon “Buddy” Keala and Walter Ritte. “We asked for guidance from those who were building walls, and then we just had to do it. We had to learn our space. Ma ka hana ka ʻike all the way,” Kotubetey recalled. “Loko iʻa are systems with similar elements but super unique and place-based.”

Although Kawelo and Kotubetey initially had reservations about NERR because of the federal government’s involvement, their views have since changed; under NERR there is access to funding for research, education programs and stewardship activities.

“Lines were drawn but boundaries weren’t created,” explained Kawelo. “We could rely on the strengths of others to handle the research – that was a weight off our plate because prior to the designation we had to juggle everything ourselves and it was overwhelming. The new model is ʻwork with others.’”

With the mangrove nearly gone, and most of the wall rebuilt, they are focusing more attention on fishpond production – and removing invasive fish and limu species. Currently, their number one priority is eliminating the invasive “upside-down” jellyfish. So fully restoring the health of the loko iʻa and its productivity is a long game. “We’re not selling fish because the pond is not ready yet,” said Kawelo. “We’re not harvesting or distributing but that’s okay. One day we will.”

A vision of sustainability and ʻāina momona

“ʻĀina is a system that includes people,” explained Winter. “If you look at the writings of [historian] David Malo in 1832, he said that ʻāina is a term for an island when there are people on it. If there are no people, it’s called a moku. So ʻāina is a system that has people in it.”

Winter says that the dominant western worldview that humans are separate from, and intrinsically bad for, nature is not the worldview of our kūpuna. He said people aren’t the problem – their behaviors are.

“We know 150 years ago we had the same population in this area of Kāneʻohe Bay and in those days the streams were clean, the reefs were full of fish. What’s the difference now? It’s how we’re acting. We’re not caring for the land. We’re viewing it as a commodity and focusing on its highest, best economic use versus looking at it as our relative. Because that’s what it is. We are related to all of this. That’s what the Kumulipo teaches; what science teaches.”

Embracing the worldview of our kūpuna and applying their wisdom to address the sustainability, conservation and resource management issues affecting Hawaiʻi today inspires the work being accomplished in Heʻeia. And despite the challenges, there is optimism and a common vision.

“The work happening in Heʻeia is an ideal model for other ahupuaʻa to follow. The people of the ahupuaʻa were self-sustaining. That is what we are doing here – making the ahupuaʻa we live in productive. We want these areas to be producing food. That was our main goal with the loʻi kalo,” Cypher emphasized. “But the research is also important. The spiritual renewal up ma uka is important. It all complements each other. People feel called to the land.”

Kotubetey acknowledges that restoring fishponds to their historic production levels will be a challenge. “It’s going to take more than just our organization working at our pond. But I think part of the ‘feeding’ we do here is getting people stoked about loko iʻa culture,” he said. “Even if they’re not eating fish from our pond every day they’re going to become better consumers and better community members – more island-minded, more island focused.”

“We can look at the mistakes made in Heʻeia by the development companies and learn from what happened,” adds Kūkea-Shultz. “We’re still growing, still learning and still making mistakes but hopefully we’ll be able to build other programs to help other ʻāina and grow more types of food. We have amazing climates here where we can grow things like wheat and rice or plant vineyards.”

The work of the Heʻeia NERR partners requires a different mindset. “Nowadays we think of economics and wealth as how many dollars are in your bank account. The Kānaka ʻŌiwi view of wealth is how much water you have on your ʻāina,” Winters said.

“The amazing thing about this whole system of loʻi and loko iʻa is that it slows down the flow of water through the watershed and the ahupuaʻa. Water flows slowly from loʻi to loʻi, back to the auwai (irrigation channel), back to the loʻi to the stream and eventually to the fishpond. One way to look at a circular economy is that it’s a water cycle. The kūpuna knew this. That’s why the wealth, waiwai, of our whole economic system is in this cycle of water.”

“We talk all the time about the fishpond, the loʻi, the water. But it’s really about relationships,” Kawelo reflected. “Pilina is really what makes the ahupuaʻa. Knowing your neighbor. Holding each other accountable. Relying on each other and being interdependent. I think that’s the biggest lesson. We need to shift that conversation from dependency and value community. Then we’re safe and we’re food secure.”

“I’m so proud of what this generation is doing. It’s going to take time and it’s not going to finish in their generation. They’re preparing it for the next generation. We had to fight and prove our ʻāina could be restored. This is the dream of our kūpuna,” smiled Kaluhiwa. “This generation is doing a darned good job.”

The post Restoring ‘Āina Momona in He‘eia appeared first on Ka Wai Ola.

1 of 5

What could be the most consequential gathering of Pacific Islanders in Hawaiʻi’s history will occur this summer. For the first time since its inception in 1972, Hawaiʻi will host the Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture (FestPAC), the world’s largest celebration of Indigenous Pacific Islanders. Artists, cultural practitioners, scholars, and officials from 28 Pacific Island nations will convene on Oʻahu from June 6 to 16, 2024.

FestPAC, usually held every four years, was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture will be held in Hawaiʻi, marking the first time a U.S. state will host the event.

“The selection of Hawaiʻi as the host country for the festival is a testament to the island’s enduring legacy as a beacon of cultural diversity and inclusivity,” said Kalani Kaʻanāʻanā, chair of the Hawaiʻi Commission. “It’s an opportunity for us to share the aloha spirit with our Pacific Island cousins and reaffirm our commitment to preserving and promoting Indigenous cultures.”

Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Tahiti, Australia, the Cook Islands, Western Samoa, New Caledonia, Palau, American Samoa, the Solomon Islands, and Guam have all hosted FestPAC.

The Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture traces back to 1972 when the South Pacific Commission, now known as the Pacific Community, sought to halt the erosion of traditional customs and practices among Pacific Island communities through ongoing cultural exchange. The hope was to create a space for Pacific Islanders to share their traditional arts, crafts, music, dance, and oral traditions with the world.

FestPAC is a platform for Pacific Islanders to showcase their unique cultural heritage, exchange knowledge and skills, and foster greater understanding and appreciation amongst its diverse communities.

It has also served as a meeting place for conversations at the highest levels of government within the Pacific region. It has brought together Pacific peoples from different countries to discuss their shared challenges of climate change, geopolitical dynamism, environmental sustainability issues, regenerative economic challenges, and other critical issues.

“All of this is founded through this Festival on the platform of Pacific cultural worldview, cultural knowledge, and cultural practice, all through points that continually and directly connect us to our ancestors,” said Festival Director Aaron Salā. “The Festival of Pacific Arts is more than just a showcase of cultural performances. It’s a living testament to the resilience, creativity, and spirit of the Pacific people. It’s about preserving our traditions, honoring our ancestors, and shaping the future of our communities.”

1 of 4

The theme for FestPAC Hawaiʻi 2024 is Hoʻoulu Lāhui: Regenerating Oceania. In ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, Hoʻoulu Lāhui means to grow the nation. The 2024 Festival will highlight several urgent issues facing the Pacific region, including rising sea levels, climate change, sustainability, coral reef death, and widening social inequality.

FestPAC Hawaiʻi’s official Opening Ceremony is Thursday, June 6, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, T.C. Ching Athletics Complex. The opening ceremonies resemble those of the Olympic Games, with a parade of flags of the participating countries but with the added flare of each Pacific Island delegation’s culture on full display with traditional dress, dances, and customs.

A film festival, fashion show, live performances, an Indigenous philosophers conference, and a youth ambassador program are among the more than 50 symposia, workshops, or events scheduled.

One of the highlights of past FestPACs has been the Festival Village & Marketplace, where each nation can display its culture through performances, demonstrations, displays, and heritage arts.

At FestPAC Hawaiʻi, the Festival Village & Marketplace will be at the Hawaiʻi Convention Center.

Attendees will see authentic cultural practitioners demonstrate all sorts of cultural art forms, from carving to weaving, singing, dancing, kapa/tapa/siapo making, fiber artistry, visual artistry, and more, all under one roof.

Participating delegations include American Samoa, Australia, Cook Islands, Rapa Nui, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Hawaiʻi, Kiribati, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Island, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Pitcairn Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna, and Taiwan.

In addition to the Hawaiʻi Convention Center, other venues across Oʻahu that will host FestPAC Hawaiʻi events will include Bishop Museum, Capitol Modern, ʻlolani Palace, Kawaiahaʻo Church, Kapiʻolani Band Stand, Kualoa Regional Park, Polynesian Cultural Center, Pālama Settlement, Kapolei Regional Park, and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

FestPAC Hawaiʻi 2024 expects to attract 100,000 local and visitor attendees. Each of the 28 nations’ ministers of culture is allowed to bring up to 100 delegates who specialize in cultural practices.

For Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders living in Hawaiʻi, this year’s festival will bring forward their homeland’s sights, sounds, tastes, and visuals for all to share.

According to the 2020 Census, 317,497 Native Hawaiians live in the State of Hawaiʻi, along with over 30 different groups of Pacific Islanders. The Samoan population is the largest, at 40,871, followed by Marshallese, Tongan, Chamorro, and Chuukese.

For Salā, who is both Samoan and Native Hawaiian, FestPAC Hawaiʻi offers a rare moment of cultural exchange and unity.

“FestPAC is the foremost platform for the celebration and perpetuation of Pacific arts and culture. This is a once-in-a-lifetime, unique opportunity for Hawaiʻi to showcase our cultural heritage with our broader Pacific ‘ohana, while also fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation for the Pacific’s collective identity,” Salā said.

1 of 2

At its February meeting, Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) trustees authorized the disbursement of $1.5 million to assist the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture hosted in Hawaiʻi. The funds will help support the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, an Ecumenical Service, a Pacific Traditional Leaders Forum, and other event programming.

“It is important that the Native Hawaiian community be at the forefront in representing these islands, and OHA is proud to represent the voice of the lāhui at this international celebration,” said OHA Board Chair Carmen “Hulu” Lindsey. “This is an opportunity for Hawaiʻi to rekindle our relationship with other Pacific Islanders.”

OHA will bring together traditional leaders from other Pacific Island nations at an unprecedented forum designed to strengthen bonds between the island nations.

“At the end of the day, this Festival is meant to celebrate the people who make up the region and meant to bring these people together in a way that elevates what we have been doing for generations and generations and generations, and reminding ourselves that we aren’t alone in this ocean,” Salā said.

For more information about FestPAC Hawaiʻi 2024, including Festival delegations, event programs, and venue information, visit www.festpachawaii.org.

The post Hawaiʻi to Host Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture for the First Time in Its History appeared first on Ka Wai Ola.

A one-time $9,000 grant will be awarded to eligible homeowners who experienced hardship; a one-time $4,000 grant will be awarded to eligible renters who experienced hardship. Grant funds are intended to improve the economic stability of impacted Native Hawaiians, empowering each beneficiary to determine their own greatest need and help meet that need in the face of disaster. The application period is open from April 10, 2024 to December 31, 2024, at the OHA Maui Office and online at www.oha.org/kanaahogrant.

“We understand the significant challenges faced by our community members in Lahaina and Kula as they recover from the impacts of wildfires,” said OHA Chair and Maui Trustee Carmen “Hulu” Lindsey. “The OHA Kanaaho Grant is designed to provide direct support to our beneficiaries in their recovery journey.”

OHA’s Kanaaho Grants will be distributed to one head of household per affected residence who meets all the eligibility criteria:

1. Applicant must be Native Hawaiian. A government issued ID is required and one of the following: an OHA Hawaiian Registry Program card, a birth certificate that states “Hawaiian,” a Kamehameha Schools Ho‘oulu letter and a Department of Hawaiian Home Lands lease or waitlist verification.
2. Applicant experienced hardship due to disaster. This may be self-reported on the application form.
3. Applicant is the head of household for a primary residence (owned or rental) that is located in the impacted disaster district zones as determined by county officials. The residence must be the principal residence, where the family/individual lived prior to the disaster. Proof of Residency may include a 2022 Tax Return, bank statement, car registration, County of Maui letter, FEMA Proof of Damage, HIEMA letter, or inclusion in the Maui Wildfire Damage Log, voter registration, or a utility bill.
4. Applicant must provide proof of ownership or renter status for a primary residence that is located in the impacted disaster district zones as determined by county officials. Documents accepted will include a house deed, mortgage statement, rental agreement, rental receipt with street address or a utility bill will be accepted for renters.
5. For payment purposes, the applicant must submit a signed W-9 form. The applicant will not be taxed. A W-9 form may be downloaded from www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf.

On Sept. 6, 2023, the OHA Board of Trustees unanimously voted to approve the distribution of $5 million in emergency disaster relief funds to kōkua Native Hawaiian beneficiaries affected by the fires on Maui. Trustees have been working in cooperation with Native Hawaiian leaders on Maui to assess needs to inform the thoughtful deployment of funds to provide the largest impact to recovery efforts. The OHA Kanaaho Grant represents the first distribution of relief funds from OHA.

The $5 million commitment of funds is one of many actions OHA has taken to provide support to Maui wildfire victims. Other initiatives OHA has undertaken to kōkua include the distribution of $2 million in housing vouchers and gift cards with the charitable nonprofit Global Empowerment Mission. OHA also donated use of its warehouse in Hakuone to organize, store and deploy supplies to Maui as needed, and raised more than $100,000 with community partners via the Wiwoʻole Maui Benefit Concert.

The OHA Maui Office will have modified work hours to accommodate beneficiaries who would like kōkua with submitting their application.

• On April 8 & 9, the OHA Maui Office will be closed for staff training.
• On Wed., April 10 through Fri., April 12, the OHA Maui Office will be open from 11:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
• On Sat., April 12, OHA Maui Office will be open to accept applications 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 pm.
• On Mon., April 15 to Thurs., April 18, the OHA Maui Office will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 pm.
• On Fri., April 19, the OHA Maui Office will be closed for paperwork processing.

For more information on the OHA Kanaaho Grant and OHA’s other Maui wildfire relief efforts, please visit: www.oha.org/.

The post OHA to Launch Kanaaho Grant For Lahaina And Kula Residents Affected By Wildfires appeared first on Ka Wai Ola.

It was billed as the e-commerce event of the year.

Representatives from 76 Native Hawaiian-owned businesses were among the 250 attendees who gathered in February at the Ala Moana Hotel for the first-ever “Made in Hawaiʻi Presents: Your Future in E-Commerce” conference presented by the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT).

During a variety of sessions and panels, industry leaders shared tips and insights on how Hawaiʻi entrepreneurs can succeed in the e-commerce world, with expert guidance offered to businesses of all sizes and experience.

“This conference provided invaluable guidance to local manufacturers and retailers seeking to expand their reach beyond our shores in the digital marketplace,” said James Tokioka, DBEDT director. “Mahalo to our partners Amazon and Shopify for their support in empowering our local businesses to thrive globally.”

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs waived fees and offered free registration to 76 Native Hawaiian-owned businesses that signed up for the conference.

1 of 19

“One of our key strategies at OHA is to cultivate economic development in our community. We want to help increase the number of Native Hawaiian-owned businesses and we want to help establish new markets for Native Hawaiian products,” said OHA CEO/Ka Pouhana Stacy Kealohalani Ferreira.

“These beneficiary business owners were able to learn more about e-commerce straight from speakers representing companies like Amazon and Spotify, and it doesn’t get any better than that. I am so thankful to DBEDT Director Tokioka for partnering with us in putting on this conference and I look forward to future collaborations between DBEDT and OHA.”

Conference goers discussed the gamut of e-commerce issues including working with a third-party platform, setting up an online store, product selection, basic and advanced marketing strategies, retaining customers, and even the use of artificial intelligence in digital marketing.

The list of speakers and panelists included heavyweights like Bobby Co, Amazon Marketplace seller growth team leader, Shopify’s Brand Marketing Director Chris Schmicker, Coco Moon Hawaiʻi founder Amber Thibaut, Inoa.ai founder Ellen Ng, Hibiscus Interactive founder Ted Saihara and Big Island Coffee Roasters co-founder Kelleigh Stewart.

Kailee Freitas is the owner of Mahina Made, a local lifestyle brand that has become known for its lei t-shirts. She operates primarily online and is looking into opening a brick and mortar retail store as well.

“As a business owner, I’m always looking for opportunities where we can learn to scale and grow – here locally and then reaching customers beyond Hawai’i as well. Itʻs a pleasure and an honor to be a Native Hawaiian business here in Hawaiʻi, and to have the support of organizations like OHA that allow us to grow and expand,” Freitas said.

Leomana Turalde is a young entrepreneur and the owner of Palelā Hawaiʻi. He sells “Hawaiʻiʻs Official Sunblock” which is good for both the ocean and the body. He said he was particularly attracted to an e-commerce conference.

“One of the main reasons I wanted to come was because I sell mostly online. I grew up like most of the Hawaiians in my community in Keaukaha not having computers. So for me to understand how to sell on Etsy, on Shopify, on Amazon, itʻs a huge information boom for my life and my family. Iʻm very thankful for this opportunity to come and learn how to sell online,” Turalde said.

“I know there were many many Native Hawaiian small businesses and aspiring small businesses here, and it was chicken skin to hear Native Hawaiian speakers out in the lobby talking and conversing with each other,” Tokioka said.

“I know weʻre going to continue partnerships like this. Weʻve met with (OHA CEO) Stacy (Ferreira) to talk about networks and outreach from DBEDT with OHA because its a part of their mission to help Native Hawaiian businesses thrive. This is just one of the many events we hope to have with OHA.”

Kaʻanoʻi Akaka
Keha Hawaiʻi
“I have an online store that I’m hoping to expand, so I’m excited to learn more today.”

Leomana Turalde
Palelā Sunblock
“For me to understand how to sell on Shopify and on Amazon is a huge informational boom for my life and my family.”

Kailee Freitas
Mahina Made
“Mahalo nui to OHA for sponsoring us to attend this event. It’s a pleasure and an honor to be a Native Hawaiian business here in Hawai’i.”

Maui Iokepa-Guerrero
Hua Ulu ʻĀina
“I kēia manawa, ke ʻulu nei mākou me ka ʻike, e kau i nā kiʻi o nā mea kanu Hawaiʻi, nā mea Hawaiʻi, a pela aku. A pela pū me nā kaleka.”

Kara Gibler
Moku Swim Academy
“As we expand and grow, we are looking at e-commerce to meet our customersʻ needs & maybe even expand to other islands.”

Ty Tynan
ʻOhana First Home Care
“I have a Native Hawaiian technology company and we’re figuring out the best route to grow utilizing e-commerce.”

The post Cultivating Economic Development appeared first on Ka Wai Ola.

He maiʻa ke kanaka a ka lā e hua ai.
A person is like a banana tree on the day it bears fruit.
One can tell what kind of a person they are by their deeds.
They honor the past by looking to the future.

Their goal is to build an innovation and technology ecosystem in Hawaiʻi that’s locally grown and based in Hawaiian culture. Their hope is to stand as a world class Hawaiian institution that sets the standard for excellence in education, innovation, and entrepreneurship in service of land and people.

Purple Maiʻa Foundation is a technology education nonprofit that was founded in 2013. Its programs started with a single afterschool technology class at Jarrett Middle School that taught Native Hawaiian and local kids to code. Since then, the organization has grown to work with hundreds of learners annually in three distinct programs: Youth Education (Kaikaina), Entrepreneurship (Mālama Design Studios), and Workforce Development and Training (Hiapo).

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) recently awarded a pair of community grants to Purple Maiʻa, joining a host of major funders that support their work including Kamehameha Schools, the U.S. Department of Education’s Native Hawaiian Education Program, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Castle Foundation, Kosasa Foundation, Stupski Foundation, Nakapuna Foundation, and many others.

1 of 7

“Hawaiians have always been innovators. From navigating our oceans to creating a thriving culture in one of the most isolated places in the world, Hawaiians have always been technology forward,” said Co-CEO Kelsey Amos, who co-founded the nonprofit along with Co-CEO Donavan Kealoha and Advisor Olin Lagon. “Through our grants from OHA, Purple Maiʻa has been enabled to continue this tradition of Indigenous innovation by pushing the boundaries of what it means to be a modern-day Hawaiian.”

A $498,660 OHA economic grant has been awarded for the company’s Mālama Design Studio initiative, an incubator program that supports Native Hawaiian businesses. The grant project entails educating 20 Native Hawaiian business owners through a collaborative design research process that results in the implementation of a technology solution that can improve their business, and ultimately cultivate economic development in and for Hawaiian communities.

A first cohort for the grant has already been selected.

“We received 85 applications from Native Hawaiian businesses across Hawaiʻi and selected 10 exceptional partner businesses, representing each island, with owners of Hawaiian ancestry,” Amos said. “With this selection, plus ongoing relationships with businesses we’ve formerly worked with, we’ve established a wide-ranging coalition of Native Hawaiian businesses from a diverse set of industries committed to attaining economic self-sufficiency.”

“We’ve established a wide network of skilled Native Hawaiian web, digital marketing and graphic design contractors to assist our project team in serving partner businesses,” said Keoni Defranco, managing director of the Mālama Design Studio. “We’ve begun to assist these companies with technological implementations, and provided resources for their business operations, and seen both revenue and social media marketing footprints dramatically increase.

“We chose companies that believe in the importance of a regenerative, circular Hawaiʻi economy that prioritizes environmental sustainability and social justice and it’s really been paying off. To us, this is the definition of waiwai – community abundance and wealth.”

Defranco said Purple Maiʻa is dedicated to supporting the development of a self-sufficient economy for Hawaiʻi.

“As an entrepreneur with 10 years of experience running a venture-funded technology company in the Healthcare IT space, I personally understand that early stage companies need more than advice, they need a community supporting them, directly adding value to their roadmap and working alongside them,” he said.

“We view the Mālama Design Studio as an opportunity to add firepower into a company for the duration of the program and beyond. Working across our pae ʻāina allows us to have a better vantage point into the needs of the community, and we have identified where commercial kitchens, value add centers, distribution hubs, manufacturing facilities and other aspects of the supply chain are needed to truly scale our local economy. We understand this requires Kānaka ownership of ʻāina and infrastructure.

“Our goal is to develop a coalition of Native Hawaiian social entrepreneurs focused on aloha ʻāina, sustainability and regenerative business models to cultivate waiwai and uplift our lāhui,” Defranco added. “We’ve taken a systemic approach assisting social enterprises and industry leaders in target areas that include food security, land stewardship, health and wellness, renewable energy, housing solutions, and biocultural restoration, all accelerated by innovative technologies.”

A $200,000 OHA education grant will go toward the “Waiw.AI: Building a Flourishing Future for Kanaka with AI” project that will equip Native Hawaiian students and kumu with AI (artificial intelligence) knowledge and skills.

Waiw.AI Studios will focus on introducing students and teachers in Hawaiʻi to AI through a variety of activities, such as workshops, training sessions and mentorship programs.

“By equipping Native Hawaiian students with AI knowledge and skills, we aim to increase their college, career, and community readiness, and ensure they are prepared to participate in the rapidly evolving field of AI,” Amos said.

“Moreover, by increasing the number of Native Hawaiian professionals in AI-related fields, we hope to contribute to the development and innovation of AI in Hawaiʻi and ensure that Hawaiian perspectives and values are integrated into the field. Waiw.AI encourages a multigenerational perspective that engages students in the problems of the present with an eye towards a flourishing future.”

Vice President of Educational Design Mike Sarmiento said Purple Maiʻa is thankful for OHA’s belief in their skillset.

“For Waiw.AI studios, we have appreciated OHA’s commitment to taking a chance on our ability to amplify our cultural values and ʻike using an emerging technology. The flexibility to work with both haumāna and kumu will enable this studio to have the most impact and to grow our communities’ understanding and capacity to utilize these new tools for the betterment of our lāhui,” he said.

Sarmiento said that innovative Native Hawaiian organizations like Purple Maiʻa need the support of innovative funders like OHA.

“Sometimes when you are pushing the edge of what it means to be a Hawaiian today it can feel risky and controversial for funders. We believe that although it can be scary, there is waiwai to be found at the outer edges where the known meets the unknown,” he said.

“Organizations and funders must find courage. The same courage that it took for our ancestors to venture out on their waʻa to discover Hawaiʻi, is the same courage we need today as modern Hawaiians to rediscover Hawaiʻi. This can only be done together.”

The post Continuing a Tradition of Indigenous Innovation appeared first on Ka Wai Ola.

In an effort to provide financial resources to Native Hawaiian families impacted by the 2023 Maui Island wildfires, Office of Hawaiian Affairs’ (OHA) trustees have approved a total of $5 million in emergency disaster relief funds.

Also approved at the Aug. 18, 2023, board meeting was the creation of a Permitted Interaction Group (PIG), which would allow designated board members to assess the situation on Maui and make recommendations to the entire board in an effort to speed up response time.

The utter devastation brought by the Maui wildfires has brought unprecedented and catastrophic loss.

“Trustees are extremely concerned about the conditions of our people on Maui, and these funds are intended to help them over a period of time. The PIG has been created to investigate a means of distributing our monies and determine how our funds can be utilized most effectively,” said OHA Board Chair Carmen “Hulu” Lindsey.

“We believe that this money is crucial to help Native Hawaiians, and this is just the beginning of what OHA will be doing to help the Hawaiian people on Maui,” added OHA Interim Ka Pouhana/CEO Colin Kippen.

OHA also partnered with the international nonprofit Global Empowerment Mission (GEM) by putting out a kāhea to beneficiaries directly affected by the fires, and then providing space at OHA’s Maui Office to facilitate GEM’s distribution of short-term housing vouchers.

Within a week of the disaster, hundreds of people stopped by OHA’s office in Kahului where GEM staff distributed $1.9 million in housing vouchers to be used at Airbnbs on Maui. About 420 families received a voucher. GEM also passed out gift cards and supplies.

GEM was formed in response to the 2010 Haiti Earthquake. Its objective is to deliver the greatest amount of aid to the greatest number of people in need, in the shortest amount of time with minimum overhead. To date, GEM has deployed over 355 disaster relief missions in 52 countries.

“GEM is a nonprofit that has been working in Ukraine. They asked us to facilitate for them, so they were working out of the OHA office. Their vouchers were for short term, immediate housing and there’s been a cooperative work group with them and Airbnb. This work has been a blessing for the people of Maui,” Lindsey said.

GEM has since relocated into a larger building located at 115 S. Wakea Ave., Unit B in Kahului.

On Aug. 19, 2023, in coordination with Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke and the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA), OHA opened the Maui Relief Storage Facility at a warehouse that it owns in Hakuone at Kakaʻako Makai.

The more than 30,000-square-foot warehouse space is being provided by OHA at no cost. Previously used as a shelter, the warehouse is located at 200 Keawe Street.

The coordinated donation management center will receive, sort and inventory donations collected for Maui residents impacted by the wildfires and store them until they are ready to be transported and received on Maui. CNHA selected Oʻahu-based nonprofit Makana o Ke Akua to facilitate the management of both donated supplies and volunteers at the Maui Relief Storage Facility, as well as to provide coordination support between state, county and donation centers.

“Right now there is so much need and our community has really stepped up in support of our Maui ʻohana during this unimaginable tragedy,” said Kūhiō Lewis, CNHA CEO. “The Maui Relief Storage Facility will help to provide some structure and organization to the relief efforts and make it easier for the teams on the ground in Maui to get supplies to those who need it most.”

“In the spirit of lōkahi we unite with Lt. Gov. Luke and CNHA in a coordinated effort to provide support in this time of crisis. The use of our warehouse for Maui relief efforts aligns with OHA’s plan to develop Hakuone in a way that improves the quality of life for Native Hawaiians and our local community,” said Kalei Akaka, OHA O‘ahu trustee. “We’re here to help. We’re here to serve our Hawaiian people. We stand committed to kōkua in efforts such as this.”

The Maui Relief Storage Facility on Oʻahu will work directly with Maui’s donation management center – that opened on Monday, Aug. 14 – to ensure that relief supplies are sorted, organized and prioritized, and that what is needed on Maui gets there as expeditiously as possible.

“Being Maui Strong means giving our Maui ʻohana the space they need to grieve and heal. Healing is a process, and while we’ve received tremendous support in donations, we want to be thoughtful and respectful to how we deploy resources to our Maui ʻohana,” Luke said.

“Standing up this donation management center on Oʻahu with support from the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement in coordination with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs allows us to be ready to deploy what Maui needs, when they need it.”

OHA was also one of the presenting sponsors for the Wiwoʻole Maui Benefit Concert held on Aug. 19 and livestreamed around the world. OHA assisted by securing the Grand Wailea as the concert venue and helped promote the event. More than $100,000 was raised.

OHA board chair and Maui Island trustee Lindsey was also affected by the fires, when she was forced to evacuate her Kula home at 4:00 a.m. after receiving an emergency alert on her phone.

“I was really shocked,” she said. “I thought that can’t be near me, so I hesitated. But my friends living downstairs said ʻDid you hear that? You think it’s serious?’ Don’t ever question the emergency alerts! I took my dogs and went up to my granddaughter’s home and stayed there for the day. But I was one of the fortunate ones. My home was spared.”

Lindsey expressed her concern that people will still need to pay their bills even if their home burned down. “Some of them have lost their jobs. There’s so many people who were working in central Lahaina where all the businesses were burned down. They are going to need help, and OHA will help as much as possible.

“We have cried so many tears over these past few weeks. We’ve heard so many sad stories,” Lindsey said. “But you know, our people are resilient. And we’re going to come together.

“I can visualize the people of Lahaina cleaning up, one lot at a time, so that their homes can be rebuilt, and they can live next to each other again. There’s been so much aloha shared by various organizations and churches; it’s heartwarming to see people come together.”

The post Supporting Victims of the Maui Wildfires appeared first on Ka Wai Ola.

1 of 6

There were smiles all around at the groundbreaking and blessing for Pua Akiyoshi’s new home. Habitat for Humanity homebuyers are active participants in the process, completing 200 hours of “sweat equity” on the construction of their own home, and 75 hours to help other homeowners build theirs. – Photos: Misha Ross

Itʻs not easy to be a homeowner in Hawaiʻi.

In May 2023, the Oʻahu median sale price for a single-family home sat at more than $1.1 million. Hawaiians are being priced out of their own paradise, with estimates from a 2021 American Community Survey showing that there are now roughly 309,800 Hawaiians living in Hawaiʻi, and roughly 370,000 residing in other states on the continent.

The dream of homeownership and its benefits like financial stability, wealth building, tax benefits and maybe most importantly – a sense of belonging to community, to the ʻāina – continues to slip away from the majority as an increasingly unattainable goal.

For years, Pua Akiyoshi and her late husband, Wesley Akiyoshi, enjoyed living in town paying a reasonable rent. But rent on their unit inevitabily went up and has continued to increase each year. Akiyoshi was feeling the pinch.

“Hawaiʻi is my home. I don’t want to move to the mainland. I don’t want to be homeless,” she said. “Rent is going crazy, and I can’t afford the rents that are out there now. It’s way more than what I was paying when I first started.”

Enter Honolulu Habitat for Humanity.

Last year, the nonprofit organization was awarded a $1.5 million grant from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) to create affordable homeownership opportunities for Native Hawaiian families. The program will provide permanent, affordable shelter and foster economic self-sufficiency for an estimated 36 Native Hawaiians over the next two years.

Funds will be used to conduct outreach and education sessions to prospective homeowners, and construct nine occupancy ready homes on Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) trust lands in partnership with qualified low-income families.

Akiyoshi’s new home is currently being built and, when finished before the end of the year, will be the first of the eight homes to be constructed in Waimānalo under the OHA grant. Another home will be constructed in Waiāhole on a Hawaiʻi Housing Finance and Development Corporation land lease.

“A lot of people can’t do it without help. So I can’t wait for this to finish,” Akiyoshi said. Her new mortgage, secured with a USDA loan, will be less than the rent she is currently paying.

Akiyoshi’s journey began with her helping herself. Her first step was becoming financially literate. She attended the Nānākuli Housing Corporation’s Homebuyers Education and Financial Literacy Program – a program that OHA provided funding toward with a goal of training 500 beneficiaries to assist in achieving homeownership.

In 2014, Akiyoshi’s mother, Agnes “Lani” Hanawahine Borges, passed away and Akiyoshi took her place on the DHHL waiting list for eligible applicants.

She then signed on with Honolulu Habitat after being selected for the DHHL lot in Waimānalo in 2019, although the COVID-19 pandemic totally interrupted her construction schedule.

“I attended several financial education classes, and over the years I made sure my financial state was in order because I didn’t want to fall back. This is something I’ve wanted for a long time so I’ve stayed focused and it’s finally here. I look forward to it every day. I’m getting a house and basically paying for the building supplies and not the labor,” Akiyoshi said.

Honolulu Habitat’s homebuyers, like Akiyoshi, are active participants in the construction of their home and are required to complete “sweat equity.”

Every adult who will live in the home is required to provide 275 hours of labor. Fifty hours is “pre-sweat equity” where future residents will help construct the home of others. Then 200 hours are spent in building the person’s own home. Then 25 hours are expected to assist the next homeowner in line, or to give back to the organization and share their experiences and testimony with prospective new homeowners.

Since 1988, Honolulu Habitat, with the aid of tens of thousands of volunteers, has helped more than 400 people build (or improve) a place to call home.

“We are so grateful for this opportunity to partner with OHA,” said TJ Joseph, chief executive officer of Honolulu Habitat. “As a Native Hawaiian woman and Habitat homeowner residing on this homestead, I know the transformative power of having a safe, affordable place to call home. OHA’s support will create life-changing outcomes today and build impact and opportunity for future generations of Native Hawaiians.”

Articulate, intelligent and passionate, Joseph is one of many outstanding young ʻŌiwi leaders stepping up to serve the needs of the lāhui.

“Our vision at Honolulu Habitat is that everybody deserves a decent place to live. Our mission is to put God’s love into action to build homes, communities and hope. The first step comes from the homeowner’s awareness that they need help; and we are here to walk every step of the way with them to make that dream a reality,” Joseph said.

“This program is really about the strength and self-resilience of a family to make their situation better, and then have an organization support them as they go. It is definitely a hands up and never a handout. As Hawaiians, that’s the only way we thrive. We only thrive when we feel that we can give as much as we receive.”

Akiyoshi said she can’t wait to move into her brand new house. Her mother was originally from Waimānalo.

“I was really blessed to be qualified and to have this help with my home. My husband passed away in 2019, and for me that was the end of the world. He’s with me, just not physically,” she said.

“But with this, I have something to look forward to. This is my home. This is where I was born. My mom has a lot of family here. So I’m coming home, and I count my blessings every day.”

If you are interested in learning more about the programs and services offered by Honolulu Habitat for Humanity, please visit their website at honoluluhabitat.org.

The post A House for Aunty Pua appeared first on Ka Wai Ola.

1 of 3

Cori Ehukai Nakamoto is living every entrepreneur’s dream. She followed her passion for cake decorating and successfully turned her hobby into a flourishing business aptly named Cori’s Cake Dreams. With the support of OHA Mālama Loans, today she has three Cake Dreams Bakeshop sites. Like her impressive cake designs, Nakamoto’s aspirations show her boundless, creative energy and optimism for the future.

Nakamoto’s sweet taste of success didn’t happen overnight. For more than a decade, she dedicated herself to perfecting her craft, creating and selling her exquisitely designed luxury cakes for weddings, showers, birthdays, and other special occasions on weekends – while working full-time as an orthodontic care coordinator.

The McKinley High School graduate who grew up in Kalihi first became smitten by the joy of cake decorating when she took a cake decorating class with her mom. That was a pivotal experience. She sold her first cake in 2010, nearly 13 years ago, and soon was taking as many as four to five orders a week. Her weekends were spent producing cakes from start to finish — baking, decorating and delivering — all on her own. And she enjoyed every sweet moment.

Nakamoto’s professional validation came when she and Nixon Dabalos, another Hawaiʻi baker, were selected by Netflix producers to be one of the four contestant teams on the popular show, Sugar Rush: Extra Sweet in 2020.

“When we got to the studio it was awesome,” Nakamoto said. “It was like a Disneyland for adults in the cake business. We just gave it our best shot and hoped to make it past Round 1.”

The baking team representing Hawaiʻi actually did better, winning all three rounds and impressing the judges with their innovative creations. They were required to make desserts made with childhood sweet and savory junk food snacks.

The Hawaiʻi duo outshined the other contestants with their cheese-filled cupcake encrusted with cheeseball crumbs; their Hawaiʻi-inspired rainbow Ho-Ho made with chantilly and mango jam drizzled with Milk Dud glaze; and a boombox and gumball machine expertly designed to burst with candy when the cake was cut.

They made all of Hawaiʻi proud winning the grand prize of $10,000. Nakamoto said she is still reaping the benefits of the notoriety of winning on a nationally acclaimed show, but she has remained grounded and humble and is working as hard as ever.

“Even though others tell me, ‘You’re there,’ I don’t feel like I’m quite there yet,” said Nakamoto, who continually strives to get better.

In May 2022, Nakamoto successfully acquired two bakery locations, one at Fort Shafter and the other at Tripler Medical Center, and six employees, which she subsequently doubled to a staff of a dozen to greatly expand her vision and operations. It was exactly what she had been praying for to take her business to the next level. She recently celebrated the grand opening of her third bakery at Schofield in Wahiawa.

The bakeries offer every imaginable delight: cassava flan, Ube Brazo De Mercedes, blueberry cheesecake tarts, banana bread, Fruity Pebbles macarons, and even the cheeseball cupcake that won the hearts of the Netflix Sugar Rush judges.

With the bakery acquisitions, Nakamoto made the difficult decision to give up her orthodontic position after 20 years.

“I loved working there,” she said, noting that her sisters, Darcie and Bree, and her friends from church have been her main source of encouragement as she ventured into her business on a full-time basis.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) Mālama Loan program has been instrumental in supporting Nakamoto’s dream. OHA helped Nakamoto to finance the purchase of a new freezer, build a new website for her bakeries, develop marketing materials, and provide employee uniforms and startup capital to cover the first month of payroll.

Aikū‘ē Kalima, manager of OHA’s Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund program, said the program provides more than lend money. “We contract a vendor to provide technical assistance to every approved start-up loan applicant to ensure their success. It’s like having a personal coach or mentor assigned to you to review your business plan to not only ensure you can repay the loan, but also to enjoy long-term business success.”

Nakamoto does not consider herself a role model but is proud to represent Native Hawaiians. She offered some practical words of wisdom for others: “When times get rough, most businesses scale back, but that is the time to push through.”

Visit cakedreamsbakeshop.com.

The post Baking Sweet Dreams appeared first on Ka Wai Ola.

“He aliʻi ka ʻāina, he kauā ke kanaka.
The land is a chief; man is its servant.”

They describe themselves as modern-day ʻĀina Warriors, helping to bring sustainability, resiliency, and self-sufficiency to their island home. Their vision is an economically diverse and food secure Kauaʻi, and they are rallying the community through the value of mālama ʻāina.

It’s critical work, and if the pandemic proved anything, it’s that Hawaiʻi needs more organizations like ʻĀina Hoʻokupu o Kīlauea (AHK) spread out across the entire pae ʻāina.

“AHK is here to manage, listen and care for the ʻāina within the reality of this modern world,” said AHK Executive Director Yoshito L’Hote. “How do we continue to uphold these values that describe the land as a chief, and the man as its servant? Our project is an approach toward re-establishing a role for Kānaka to become a provider and steward by providing a space where we can thrive in this modern age.”

Established in 2015, AHK’s goal is to facilitate solutions to economic, social, agricultural and food security challenges that the Kīlauea community and Kauaʻi face.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, AHK was able to support local farmers by purchasing their goods and putting together Farmers Market Boxes that were then sold at a drive-through to local residents. The program boomed, and as the volume of produce gathered increased, AHK started purchasing fresh fruits and vegetables with donations from the community and began servicing kūpuna and families economically impacted by the pandemic.

1 of 4

A $50,201 Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) COVID-19 Impact and Response Grant in 2021 allowed AHK to provide 3,500 mixed locally grown produce boxes that supplied weekly deliveries to more than 500 Native Hawaiian families on Kauaʻi for some five months.

AHK went on to garner support from the federal USDA Farmers-to-Families Food Box program, the County of Kauaʻi and CARES Act funding, which allowed them to purchase equipment, greenhouses, and the necessary infrastructure to start producing the food that was going into the boxes.

In September of 2022, AHK was awarded a $100,000 OHA ʻĀina Community Grant intended to provide 3,600 produce boxes to more than 300 Native Hawaiians across Kauaʻi over the next two years. Specifically, the grant funds 1,800 boxes per year (36 per week) to benefit Native Hawaiian families.

Boxes are approximately 10 lbs. each and cost about $25 for the produce and $5 for aggregation, construction and delivery.

The community grant from OHA is being used as matching funding for a USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant, which is a three-year grant of $125,000 per year. AHK also secured $75,000 from a private donor but still has to raise matching funds for the second and third years. Along with $75,000 in private donations, AHK will be able to continue producing Farmers Market Boxes for the rest of this year.

“Our partnership with OHA is allowing us to continue providing this great gift from the ʻāina through our nonprofit partners that serve our Hawaiian community. The more boxes get purchased, the more food can be grown at the Kīlauea Ag Center, and the more connected the benefiting families are to the ʻāina,” L’Hote said.

AHK has been developing the Kīlauea Community Agricultural Center (KCAC), a 75-acre parcel on the North Shore of Kauaʻi formerly owned by the Kīlauea Sugar Plantation Co., to build food resiliency, economic diversity and provide an avenue to connect with ʻāina.

1 of 6

“KCAC is a place where beginning farmers can have access to land, infrastructure and expertise to facilitate their success,” L’Hote said. “We currently have seven independent farmers on-site, and we farm 5 acres to grow produce going toward the boxes, along with other produce purchased from our on-site location and from other local farmers,” L’Hote said.

“Recently, we are continuing to vertically integrate the farm by adding our new support kitchen and market/deli, capturing the retail dollar and its profitability to help maximize the revenue from local production, and continue to allow us to maintain our produce boxes system hopefully in perpetuity,” he added.

“KCAC is an attempt to support Hawaiians and local people to maintain their sense of place and allow them to perpetuate their culture. We’re also providing access to entrepreneurial support, access to land to farm, and skillsets to have them contribute to their community in a meaningful way,” L’Hote said.

L’Hote said he enjoys serving his community and providing a positive path forward that honors the island’s host culture.

“The best thing about this grant work is to see the smiling faces of the recipients when they see the beautiful fruits and vegetables that they would normally not be able to purchase and to connect the most disadvantaged parts of the community to our ʻāina,” he said.

“We are nurturing a sense of hope and direction for Kauaʻi. It is our responsibility, as stewards of this land, to prioritize the needs of ʻāina. Our project allows the continuity of Hawaiian values while succeeding in this modern era.

“Because locally grown produce is more expensive, those who are financially well off are able to purchase it. As a producer and aggregator, we utilize the philanthropic mechanism to ensure fresh produce is readily available to all, regardless of income, because nobody should go without a healthy balanced diet in Hawaiʻi.”

The post Building a Sustainable Future on Kauaʻi appeared first on Ka Wai Ola.