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Nestled in the ahupuaʻa of Paukaʻa, in the ʻili of Pāhoehoe on Hawaiʻi Island, are 9 acres of land that Kāwika Lewis and his ʻohana steward called ʻĀina University – a place where visitors from keiki to kūpuna can learn about the ahupuaʻa system, food security, Native Hawaiian plants and crops, and more.

Lewis, a kanaka mahiʻai (farmer), said that ʻĀina University is about more than learning how to plant and farm.

“I believe everybody needs to get reconnected again to something that’s greater than themselves, which is our culture,” Lewis said. “I’m not just going to show you how to plant vegetables. You learn the work ethic, the culture, the language, the protocols, to be hardworking, respectful, to work as a team, a hui, a people. It’s not just planting and farming, it’s about life.”

Grow

Lewis has worked for Kamehameha Schools Hawaiʻi for 18 years. Shortly after he started working there, he requested to see their available land leases. He said that the site in Paukaʻa caught his attention because it had a waterfall.

“When I got to the location with the manager, I stepped out of the car and I could hear water in the background,” Lewis said. “As soon as she stepped out of her car, I told her I’d take it.”

The site was overgrown and unused for over 15 years before the Lewis ʻohana became the land stewards. He explained that once he heard the water, he knew he wanted to invest the time into it because other places he had in the past didn’t have water available.

“My family was never trying to be commercial farmers, it was more for the lifestyle of sustainability and growing food for sustenance,” Lewis said. “The 9 acres seemed like a lot already, especially when you don’t work with any funding and all you initially start off with is a shovel and a dream.”

Lewis recalled first becoming fascinated with the ancient Hawaiian ahupuaʻa system back in kindergarten. This traditional land management system was designed to maintain balance in life by sustainably using resources to support both the land and the people.

“Even as a little youth I was intrigued looking at the poster that we all grew up seeing in classrooms,” Lewis said. “And I was just like where is this place, I want to find it. I want to do the things that I see everybody doing in the poster.”

Lewis later moved to Hawaiʻi Island to attend UH Hilo, where he met many kūpuna who continued to spark his interest in farming practices by sharing their ancestral knowledge with him.

“If you look at the poster, the biggest thing on the poster is the water going through the land division,” he said. “That’s the richness and the wealth of water, so today at our place that’s what I have, I have a water source coming through the middle of our place that’s very similar to the poster.”

Gather

Lewis said there have been times when he’s questioned why he’s doing this work, but he believes ʻĀina University is a kuleana given to him by his ancestors.

“Even though they’re long gone, they’re like, ʻHere Kāwika, you’re going to be the one to carry this torch for others to know about,’ and it became my kuleana and I take it very seriously,” he said.

On any given day, ʻĀina University hosts groups from kindergarteners to 11th graders, as well as athletes and business professionals. While there is no set curriculum, visits can be customized to meet varying needs.

“A lot of blood, sweat and tears have been poured upon the soil, and there’s something that tells me this is the right thing to do,” Lewis said. “Everybody who leaves after a visit with us is just blown away. Some people cry because they’re just so touched about how we open their eyes about how we look at the land.”

He shared that seeing people have such emotional reactions to the visits is like getting paid $1 million in a spiritual paycheck.

“Sometimes funders don’t understand the narrative, they just want to see the numbers, but they don’t see all those moments [like]when a second-grade girl hugs you and says, ʻUncle, I’m gonna be a farmer when I grow up.’ Those kinds of things are why this is so worth it.”

Grind

Kāwika and his wife, Kaipuaʻala, have been involved with their community for almost 40 years. He believes their success comes from establishing dedicated relationships, building trust, and working with the keiki.

One of their main highlights is called mālanary, a play on the Hawaiian word māla (garden) combined with culinary. Lewis demonstrates different culinary skills, dishes, and then the groups grind (eat).

He also grows many of the crops pictured in the 1975 ahupuaʻa poster, such as kalo, ʻuala, maiʻa and ʻulu, and often collaborates with the community to help provide food for various events.

“I’ve always been interested in that, and I’ve always liked the idea of growing food, and giving food to others, sharing.”

While ʻĀina University started with a focus on Lewis’ family, he said that he wants people to know that they’re sharing that focus outward now. He added that his ʻohana has received so much love, respect and aloha from the community because of what they give.

“We’re so fortunate to live in a cycle of sharing food and reconnecting, but it comes at a price and with responsibility,” Lewis said. “But by helping in the way that we do, by giving our heart and soul to a program that we believe in, our lives have changed so much, and it has been nothing but amazing.”

For more information about Āina University email ainauniversity808@gmail.com or search @ainauniversity on Instagram and YouTube.

This article was originally published on October 14, 2025, by “Hawaiʻi Public Radio” under the title “Keiki to kūpuna gain generational knowledge at this Hawaiʻi Island ahupuaʻa.”

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Book illustrations by Harinani Orme, “illustration © Harinani Orme for Kahoʻolawe, written by Kamalani Hurley, published by Carolrhoda Books

A collaboration between ʻŌiwi author Kamalani Hurley and ʻŌiwi illustrator Harinani Orme resulted in an illustrated children’s book, Kahoʻolawe: The True Story of an Island and Her People.

The nonfiction story traces the island’s birth, unique ecosystem, and voyaging history before explaining how the U.S Navy used the island for target practice and highlighting the first successful landing of kiaʻi to protest its destruction

“The book [is] my first project,” Hurley said. “I knew that I wanted to tell stories, but I wanted them to be real, true, especially about our people.”

Hurley spent 37 years working as a writing and linguistics professor at Leeward Community College. After retiring, she finally had time to write.

“There are so many books out there supposedly telling our stories but are not by us. So that’s what I wanted to do. And because Kahoʻolawe had been on my mind, I decided to go for it.”

Hurley grew up in Honolulu and, like many others, was taught that Kahoʻolawe was a barren rock. It wasn’t until she ventured off to the continent for college and returned home during the Hawaiian Renaissance of the 1970s, that she began to understand Kahoʻolawe was much, much more.

“Suddenly we were learning our history. Living on Oʻahu my whole life I didn’t hear the booms and window shaking that people on Maui and Molokaʻi could hear. They knew what was happening on Kahoʻolawe. But me, living near Chinatown on Oʻahu, I didn’t know any of this,” Hurley explained.

“A lot of us in my generation did not grow up with the language, did not understand the culture, did not really know our history,” she said, adding that her generation has evolved because of what they learned during – and since – the renaissance.

One of Hurley’s favorite things about Kahoʻolawe’s story is the leadership shown by the Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana (PKO).

On Jan. 4, 1976, nine individuals (the “Kahoʻolawe Nine”) traveled to the island to protest the U.S Navy’s continued use of the island for bombing practice. The PKO later filed a federal lawsuit charging the Navy with violating environmental, historical, and religious freedom laws. The case was partially settled in 1980, with a Consent Decree which granted the PKO access to the island for religious, cultural, educational, and scientific activities.

In 1994, the Navy formally transferred Kahoʻolawe to the State of Hawaiʻi, marking an end to the military’s use of the island – an outcome that was only possible through the persistent, decades-long efforts of PKO.

This year, PKO will celebrate its 50th anniversary of aloha ʻāina.

For Hurley, in writing this story it was important to be respectful and pono. That is why both she and artist Orme give 100% of their proceeds to PKO.

“It’s not right to make money off this story, it’s not right to make money off the Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana,” Hurley said.

It was also important to Hurley to have a Native Hawaiian illustrator work with her on the project. “For a topic like Kahoʻolawe, it just seemed pono,” said Hurley. “There are two Hawaiians [working on] this book and we’re coming from a different place. You can tell by Hari’s art.”

Orme’s appealing illustrations include myriad details – from footprints in the sand of the Kahoʻolawe Nine and the sprouting coconut they planted when they landed to bring life to the island, to the crater formed by “Operation Sailor Hat” that cracked the island’s water table – a permanent reminder of the way that the island has been wounded.

Although the island’s remarkable story is shared as a children’s book, it didn’t start off as one.

Hurley initially planned to write a book for older keiki without pictures, but after finishing the first chapter, she was advised to make it a picture book.

Despite this, Hurley said that the book is meant for everyone.

“The book is layered, meaning there’s language intended for the youngest readers [whose] teachers, or parents would read those words,” Hurley said. “But then there are sidebars meant for parents, teachers, and older readers that explain more.”

Since its publication, Kahoʻolawe: The True Story of an Island and Her People has received multiple awards including the Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature Best Books of 2025 and Junior Library Guild Gold Standard.

Hurley hopes that for anyone who reads the book will come away feeling her deep love and appreciation she has for Kahoʻolawe and its courageous protectors.

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“I feel like people on the Westside have pride in their community – pride in culture, pride in entrepreneurship, and pride to be from the Waiʻanae Coast,” said Waiʻanae Economic Development Council (WEDC) Program Director Shavone Lave.

WEDC is a community-based corporation serving Waiʻanae Coast residents. Its mission is to support community members who are passionate about entrepreneurship by offering business and financial services rooted in Hawaiian values.

Founded in 2015, the council is composed primarily of Native Hawaiians, and its leaders and staff are either from the Waiʻanae Moku or have worked within the community for many years.

Lave herself has first-hand experience operating a small business in Waiʻanae. In 2013 she founded The Sugar Hut, a bakery based in Māʻili. She recalled that her first introduction to WEDC happened during the pandemic.

“While I was still operating my business, the [WEDC] CEO and business developer came into my establishment during COVID,” said Lave. “They were kind of going door-to-door on the coast and seeing what the businesses were going through. WEDC is definitely a ʻboots on the ground’ and community-based, community-focused organization.”

Lave shared that after she closed her business in 2021, Westside Stories published an article about how she had transitioned from business onwer to business coaching and consulting for aspiring bakers.

“One of the staff members of WEDC learned about my experience and asked me if I was interested in a job, said Lave. “I actually said ʻno’ multiple times because I didn’t have a traditional job for so long, I didn’t know if I could do that again. But it was perfect because I really do love the business space and serving our community.”

As program director, Lave manages and oversees WEDC business support and financial literacy programs including the Waiʻanae Business Incubator, Hoʻokele Digital, Nonprofit Development, and Waiwai Pathways.

WEDC also works with outside contractors who operate their financial literacy workshops and nonprofit development program.

Lave said that she has seen Waiʻanae residents that go through their cohorts receive a boost of confidence and a feeling of community.

“Oftentimes, business owners feel like they’re going at it alone and maybe their problems are unique to them – but these problems are very common. Every business owner goes through a similar journey. So just knowing that there’s support and guidance along the way and they’re not alone is a big deal,” she said.

“And within the cohorts, it’s nice; we really build each workshop or cohort so that they can talk more together. And the power is in them having conversations amongst each other and realizing that, ʻHey there’s someone just like me who’s going through the same thing and we can do it together.’”

Through WEDC’s six-month-long Waiʻanae Business Incubator, entrepreneurs in their early stages gain skills, resources, and the confidence to take their business concept to market-ready community events.

WEDC also emphasizes incorporating Hawaiian values in all its programming by using ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, sharing different ʻōlelo noʻeau (proverbs), and moʻolelo passed on generationally.

“What we’ve found is that when someone is able to relate to something that is deeply seated within their culture, they’re able to connect to the concept they’re trying to teach,” said Lave. “So, what we’re doing is trying to bridge the connection from culture, or what had happened with their own kūpuna, to today.”

Lave added that when looking at both financial literacy and business development, it is comparable to how we steward our resources today.

On November 8, WEDC and the Pakini Loan Fund will be hosting the first-ever Waiʻanae Moku Made event from 4:00 – 8:00 p.m. This free community event will celebrate the entrepreneurship of Native Hawaiians and Waiʻanae-based businesses at the ʻOhana Kākoʻo Resource Center.

Lave said that the event initially started as Small Business Saturday to create awareness around small businesses and entrepreneurship.

“When [planning for] the second year, we knew we needed to make a larger statement which is why we rebranded it,” said Lave. “So it’s more of an opportunity to uplift what [already] exists in the community because there are entrepreneurs everywhere.

“When we go door-to-door and talk story with people in the community, someone always knows another business owner or someone with a side hustle. And I feel like that’s just who we are in Hawaiʻi because of the cost of living. And so it’s truly just a way to see what exists on the Waiʻanae Coast and how we support those businesses.”

The event will highlight small businesses, many of which are just starting out. It will also include a business resource hub for the community so folks can learn about how they, too, can start a small business – or how to support businesses in their community beyond purchasing a product or service.

Lave added that WEDC envisions a eventually exposing Waiʻanae owned small businesses to different opportunities beyond their own community – such as major local events like the annual Made in Hawaiʻi Festival or Merrie Monarch Hawaiian Arts and Crafts Fair.

Find out more information about the Waiʻanae Economic Development Center online or on Instagram. Join WEDC’s email list to receive free to low-cost business and financial resources for the community.

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It was barely 7:00 a.m. and already an excited crowd was forming along the sidewalks fronting ʻIolani Palace in downtown Honolulu. The clear skies and bright sun signaled a very sunny Saturday – a perfect day for the annual King Kamehameha Celebration Floral Parade.

As parade-goers sought their perfect parade- viewing vantage point, inside the palace grounds within the ʻIolani Barracks – which once housed the Hawaiian Kingdom’s Royal Guard – 12 kāne were reverently preparing to represent Kamehameha I and his warriors in the parade.

Of any role in the parade, this is the greatest honor and kuleana. And this year, unlike in years past, the attire they donned for the parade took Hawaiian artistry and authenticity to a whole new level.

Ocean Kaowili has been actively involved with the Kamehameha Day parade for about 45 years – and for more than 20 of those years he has been responsible for the dressing and placement of the warriors on the parade’s “Mōʻī” or “King” float.

In previous years, the warriors’ parade attire was fashioned from modern synthetic fabrics and materials. This year, however, the warriors were resplendent in feathered ʻahu ʻula (cloaks) and mahiole (helmets) fashioned by, and under the guidance of, Kumu Hulu Nui Rick San Nicolas, a noted master of traditional featherwork.

“I participated in Kumu Rick’s feather workshop over a year ago, and while I was in that workshop I was inspired to have a conversation with him,” Kaowili recalled.

Knowing that the synthetic cloaks worn in the parade for so many years were in disrepair, Kaowili and San Nicolas began to talk about using authentic ʻahu ʻula and mahiole to dress the men on the parade’s Mōʻī float.

San Nicolas began learning the art of feather lei-making in 1999. As a self-taught practitioner, he researched the ancient art form, frequently referring to a book called Feather Lei as an Art, written by renowned mother and daughter feather lei-making experts the late Mary Louise Kekuewa and Paulette Nohealani Kahalepuna.

Their dedication and knowledge were instrumental in helping San Nicolas perpetuate the art form. “Featherwork is the most important art form in Hawaiʻi because it represented the aliʻi,” San Nicolas said.

Traditionally, feather cloaks were reserved for Hawaiʻi’s chiefly class and were symbols of the utmost ranking. The cloaks were constructed from harvesting the feathers of native birds such as ʻiʻiwi, ʻapapane, mamo, and ʻōʻō, then bundling the feathers and tying them onto netting.

The birds were not killed for their vibrant plumage. They were captured by kia manu, specialized bird catchers, who would release them back into the forest after plucking just a few feathers.

Due to the highly endangered status of the few surviving species of native Hawaiian birds, their feathers are no longer used. Today, San Nicolas ethically sources feathers from Chinese golden pheasants and Lady Amherst pheasants to craft ʻahu ʻula and mahiole.

Inside the ʻIolani Barracks, each warrior waited to be called to be individually dressed by San Nicolas and Kaowili. As each kāne stood proudly, they were garbed in ʻahu ʻula – and some in mahiole – the sacred symbols of Hawaiʻi’s ruling chiefs.

Each individual ʻahu ʻula and mahiole is a masterpiece that requires hours of work.

“It probably takes around 150 hours – and that’s after all the prep work – to create an ʻahu ʻula,” San Nicolas said. “The feather helmets – once I do the feathering – I can finish in a week’s time, but that’s working up to 18 hours a day,” he added.

“A lot goes into the process [but] it’s what I love to do.”

Six of the ʻahu ʻula used in the parade were borrowed from the Hawaiʻi Convention Center. Following the parade, they were returned to their displays.

San Nicolas hopes that since they have established a precedent for having real ʻahu ʻula on the King’s float, parade organizers will not go back to using imitation cloaks.

“The biggest part of this was getting the public to see [them] in person, out in the open, to see the ʻahu ʻula in the sunlight,” San Nicolas said. “And my words to the warriors before we walked out was ‘remember what this is for. You are representing our history, our past, our aliʻi.’”

“Ka wela o ka ua” is an idiom in Mary Kawena Pukui’s book, ʻŌlelo Noʻeau: Hawaiian Proverbs and Poetical Sayings. Translated it means “rain heated by the sun” – a reference to the warrior chiefs bedecked in feathered ʻahu ʻula and mahiole resembling rainbows.

When the warriors were finally dressed, they stood quietly in formation inside ʻIolani Barracks to receive a ceremonial blessing and a reminder of their kuleana.

Every year, Kaowili said that he tries to leave the kāne with words to inspire them. This year he quoted King Kamehameha. Addressing the men he said, “I mua e nā pokiʻi, a inu i ka wai ʻawaʻawa. ʻAʻohe hope e hoʻi mai ai” – Forward my younger brothers and drink of the bitter water (of battle). There is no hope of retreat.

“In other words, he’s saying he is one of them, that we’re all brothers, all ʻohana,” Kaowili told the men.

“Although at the time, he was using those words to lead his warriors into battle, I use those same words to lead all of us into the future,” Kaowili said. “If you think about the symbolism of going into battle, the intent is the future – because at the end of the battle there is something else to move forward to.”

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The reimagined Disney story, Lilo & Stitch, released in theatres on May 22, is a retelling of the original animated film from a modern lens with an enhanced focus on cultural authenticity.

Lilo & Stitch made its debut in 2002, introducing the world to a lonely, orphaned 6-year-old Hawaiian girl, Lilo Pelekai, living with her 18-year-old sister and guardian, Nani. After Lilo wishes on a shooting star and asks for a friend, she encounters a strange blue creature called Stitch which she adopts, thinking it is a dog.

Stich turns out to be a fugitive from an alien planet – the product of a genetic experiment (known by his creators as Experiment 626).

The original film included some elements of Native Hawaiian culture (such as the importance of ʻohana) that had never previously been represented in an animated film. However, Native Hawaiian involvement in the making of the original film was minimal.

As Disney executives moved forward with plans to revive Lilo & Stitch, this time as a live-action movie, they were committed to greater Native Hawaiian representation in the production and tapped Chris Kekaniokalani Bright to write the screenplay.

Bright, a photographer and filmmaker from Oʻahu, comes from a musical family.

His grandfather was Ron Bright – the renowned musical theatre director – and his father, Clark Bright, is the bandmaster for the Royal Hawaiian Band. And the young screenwriter already had a special relationship to the film – his mother, Lynell Bright, is the director of the Kamehameha Schools Children’s Choir which was featured on the soundtrack for the original film.

Bright said that it was important, in the making of the movie, to do things right and be authentic to our culture, noting that everyone involved in the project, from producers to the director, was committed to including people from Hawaiʻi in the production – not only as part of the cast and crew – but as cultural consultants.

“Being able to represent contemporary Hawaiʻi on the big screen, I don’t think it’s ever been done,” Bright said. “We’ve seen [Hawaiʻi] from outsider perspectives. So even though there’s aliens, a crazy third act, and spaceships – at its core, this is still a Hawaiʻi movie and you feel it.”

The opportunity to show a glimpse of his “backyard” to the world excited Bright who hopes the characters in the movie will feel familiar to local audiences. “I hope people from Hawaiʻi will feel like ʻthat’s my tūtū, that’s my little cousin,’ because I did while I was on the set and writing it.”

The new Lilo & Stitch dives deeper into Nani’s backstory than the original, showing how taxing it would be for an 18-year-old to take care of a 6-year-old in Hawaiʻi without any help.

“I wanted to do right by that and really honor the original. So, you start by figuring out what is truly the heart of the story – and of course it’s about ʻohana – but it’s also about being broken, but still being good,” Bright said.

“There’s that central relationship between Lilo and Stitch, but also between Lilo and Nani. And you just have to figure out, okay how do we preserve that and then how do we also deepen it in ways that you just can’t do in animation?”

The movie stars Maia Kealoha, Sydney Agudong, and Kaipo Dudoit – all of whom were born and raised in Hawaiʻi.

Kealoha, who plays Lilo, is an 8-year-old Native Hawaiian from Hawaiʻi Island who the cast and crew members say embodies every part of Lilo. Kealoha said that she had an amazing time filming the movie and has always been a fan.

“It was amazing working with Sydney and my director Dean was creative – he made the movie a great Hawaiian roller coaster ride,” Kealoha laughed. “And yes, I love it! Just because it came out before I was born, I had like 5,000 plushies of Stitch!”

Dudoit, a Kanaka ʻŌiwi model, actor, and mea hula born and raised in Honoʻuliʻuli, Oʻahu, plays David Kawena – the boyfriend of Lilo’s older sister, Nani. He said he felt blessed and honored to be part of the project.

“It has been an absolute gift,” Dudoit said. “As a little Hawaiian boy, I didn’t really see [people like] myself on the big screen very much, especially when I was growing up. Thankfully, times have changed. It’s been an absolute honor to be given this opportunity to showcase not only my home, but my family as well.”

Dudoit credits Bright for incorporating a Hawaiian cultural identity into the movie’s characters through his screenwriting.

“I think our film really brought out both [Hawaiʻi’s] beauty and differences. Hawaiʻi people are used to understanding that we like to celebrate our own differences as people and in our own cultures and in our own families, so I think that was a beautiful thing we were able to share among each other,” Dudoit said.

“I hope everyone enjoys Lilo & Stitch. And I hope people that are from Hawaiʻi – or are no longer in Hawaiʻi but live somewhere else – are able to see their home again and remember that ʻohana will always carry us through tough times.”

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Maunawili Valley in the ahupuaʻa of Kailua was a land favored by Oʻahu’s chiefs. Kakuhihewa, one of the island’s most revered aliʻi, had a home there. And Maunawili was the birthplace of Chief Kualiʻi, who ruled Oʻahu in the 1700s.

The valley, just off of Pali Highway and hidden from view by the forest, was an ʻāina momona of almost 1,100 acres, with abundant water and fertile soil; at one time it was a thriving breadbasket for the kupa (natives) of Kailua.

Today, nonprofit Hoʻokuaʻāina is working to reclaim that legacy, managing 23 loʻi kalo on 3 acres of land in Maunawili at a site called Kapalai. Incredibly, Hoʻokuaʻāina currently produces around 30,000 pounds of kalo per year.

But growing kalo is so much more than just food production for the organization.

Dean and Michele Wilhelm are the founders and executive co-directors of Hoʻokuaʻāina. While they have been in the business of kalo cultivation since 2007, the roots of their organization are deeply embedded in Hawaiian culture, challenged youth, and community.

Before Hoʻokuaʻāina was born, Dean was a teacher at the Hawaiʻi Youth Correctional Facility while Michele managed their home and family. But the Wilhelm’s desire to build something truly impactful for these youth, their families, and the community eventually grew into the framework for Hoʻokuaʻāina.

The organization’s mission is to cultivate “a culture of individual wellbeing and community waiwai through aloha ʻāina.” They are doing this by creating a gathering space for those who visit their Maunawili farm to grow in their connection to culture, place and one another.

Hoʻokuaʻāina, which translates to “backbone of the land,” was the name given to Kapalai by Kumu Earl Kawaʻa in its early days. It refers to the people who actively live the Hawaiian culture to keep the spirit of the land alive.

Through tireless collaborative efforts with the community, the Wilhelms have transformed the overgrown Kapalai property into a gathering place where people of all ages and from all backgrounds come to take part in the reciprocal relationship of giving and receiving with the ʻāina.

Through various community programs, workdays and field trips, Hoʻokuaʻāina also offers participants several formats of mentorship via its pillars of keeping traditional values alive and ʻāina restoration.

“When we look at the word ‘sustainability,’ what does that actually mean for us as an organization? There are so many different factors to consider,” reflected Hoʻokua- ʻāina Operations Manager Kirsten Hollenbeck.

Thought leaders around the issue maintain that sustainability is crucial for ensuring long-term economic, environmental, and social wellbeing, for safeguarding resources for future generations, and for building resilient communities and economies.

“We are considering all these factors, not only for today but for future generations,” said Hollenbeck. “I firmly believe that we have become a backbone of support in our community with the ability to bring so many varying facets of need and people together on many different levels. One of these important facets is education. We have students from kindergarten all the way through college that are interwoven into what we do on a daily basis.”

Hoʻokuaʻāina’s Ahupuaʻa Systems Apprenticeship (ASA) is one of their many unique programs. The ASA, a partnership with Windward Community College (WCC), offers a unique educational pathway immersed in ʻāina-based work for youth between the ages of 17-24 from the moku (district) of Koʻolaupoko.

Students receive college tuition to earn an associate’s degree from WCC as well as a stipend for the work they perform at Hoʻokuaʻāina. The program includes mentorship, financial and community support, professional ‘āina experience, and participation in cultural practices. Partnerships have also been established with peer ‘āina organizations across Koʻolaupoko, helping students gain a comprehensive understanding of a sustainable ahupuaʻa system.

“All our ASA grads from the most recent cohort transitioned into four-year degree programs at the University of Hawaiʻi – which was so exciting to see the desire to continue their education,” Hollenbeck said. “We’re bringing on youth with all sorts of different backgrounds and pouring into them, mentoring them, and encouraging them in countless ways.

“Every single day that they keep showing up and keep striving in school and working hard in the loʻi they’re fighting for all these things. It’s changing the trajectory of their lives and it’s so exciting to see!”

Hoʻokuaʻāina also regularly connects with local kūpuna, families, and the houseless community in Waimānalo. The thousands of pounds of poi and kalo that they donate annually is just another aspect of the way that the organization contributes to sustainability for the community.

Today, Hoʻokuaʻāina is in a period of development and restoration. Through a decades-long community-driven effort to ensure the preservation of Maunawili, Hoʻokuaʻāina will soon become the steward of an additional 116 acres in the heart of the valley.

Restoration will return these fertile lands back to food production, resuming its role as an ʻāina momona for Koʻolaupoko. Hoʻokuaʻāina will continue to care for the area’s critical natural and cultural resources while increasing its programming and production capacity by 30 times (almost 3,000%) over the next 10 years.

As Hoʻokuaʻāina grows to meet the demands of the community, its kūleana remains very intentional.

“With so much growth and expansion, and as we consider all the aspects of sustainability that desperately need our attention, we still want to maintain our focus. We still want to be building relationships and caring for the needs of those around us. We still want to be pouring into each of these individual lives,” said Hollenbeck.

“Dean and Michele do a really great job of keeping this incredible vision at the forefront of everything that they do. Always challenging us to remember ‘what’s our heart? What’s our mission? And how are we cultivating this culture in our community and across our island?’”

For more information about Hoʻokuaʻāina visit hookuaaina.org.

The post Hoʻokuaʻāina in Maunawili: Sustaining Culture and Community Through Kalo appeared first on Ka Wai Ola.

Since the proposed site was announced last December, concerns have been raised about the location by residents, legislators and the Board of Water Supply.

In 2019, the State of Hawaiʻi Land Use Commission ordered the closure of Waimānalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill (WGSL) in West Oʻahu by March 2, 2028, due to concerns about its environmental impact and the need to reduce waste diversion in the area – for decades, West Oʻahu and the Waiʻanae Coast have unfairly borne the brunt of Oʻahu’s waste management “strategy.”

The selected 150-acre Wahiawā site is 800 feet above an aquifer. Those opposed to the site are concerned about the potential contamination of Oʻahu’s drinking water.

“We are 100% dependent on groundwater or underground sources of fresh water to serve our need for drinking water,” said Honolulu Board of Water Supply Manager and Chief Engineer Ernie Lau. “Groundwater and underground aquifers are vital to our survival.”

Lau explained that leachate (contaminated water), generated by rain falling through waste in a landfill, is a huge concern.

“Leachate can leak out of the [landfill] containment systems,” Lau said. “Landfills are permanent features, so once you put it there, fill it up, and cap it, it’s there forever. [But a] containment system may not last forever. At some point, it may start to leak leachate. And as it leaks, gravity will pull it down and rainfall will help drive it further down, deeper underground, until it hits the underground aquifer.”

Sharing this concern, some state lawmakers have introduced bills during this current legislative session to prevent landfills from being built over aquifers.

Councilmember Andria Tupola was shocked to hear the announcement and to have been excluded from discussions that led to the decision. “I think everybody was shocked that it was in Wahiawā and the second shock was when they specifically said they were going to put it on ag land,” she said. “Third, it was a shock because we don’t own the property. How in the world are you going to announce a site that we don’t have jurisdiction over, and the landowner had not even been engaged yet?”

Contamination of Oʻahu’s precious fresh water reserves resulting from the Red Hill fuel spill in 2021 is still fresh in our collective memories so the location of the selected landfill site above the aquifer is especially concerning. The Hālawa Shaft, which provided 20% of Oʻahu’s drinking water, was shut down in 2023 due to contamination concerns and remains closed.

“Out of everything that needed to be considered for this landfill site, I thought that the first would be the aquifer,” Tupola commented. “The whole thing about public hearings is that we would have been able to weigh out this decision, and to see the priority order and how the decision was made. We have a finite amount of land on this island, so it would have been cool to announce that there’s an interim site but our push is going to be towards not landfilling anymore.”

Lau said when making decisions like this we must look ahead 100 years or more.

“There’s a saying about ‘looking seven generations ahead’ and that is what we need to consider because our decisions today can affect the lives of the people that haven’t been born – and then they will have to deal with the problems,” he said.

“This landfill is projected to have capacity for the next 20 or 30 years. So, then the question becomes, where do you place the next landfill? And the next?

“We can’t keep putting landfills above our only source of fresh water. That’s not sustainable,” Lau reiterated. “The solution to how we manage our ‘ōpala is not an easy problem [to solve]. And it’s not just the city, the mayor, or the department of environmental services. We, as an entire community, have to be part of the solution.”

Oʻahu has a resident population of about one million and about 115,000 tourists roaming around on any given day. Already, 26% of the island’s land is considered “urban” with only 33% zoned for agriculture and 41% for conservation. Thus, the appropriation of agricultural land located above an aquifer for a landfill that may or may not leak in 30 years is both reckless and short-sighted.

Given Hawaiʻi’s finite land resources, 21st century solutions to waste management need to be adopted.

Solutions could include more aggressive recycling programs, organic waste composting on an industrial scale, or waste to energy incineration. How we manage our waste today needs to take future generations into consideration.

As a stop-gap solution, residents of Wahiawā and state officials have also proposed revisiting conversations with the U.S military to offer land currently under their jurisdiction instead of moving forward with the current proposal.

The next public meeting on this issue will be before the North Shore Neighborhood Board on March 25.

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A study from the University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization (UHERO) revealed that an estimated 8,092 children do not attend preschool – not by family choice, but due to systemic barriers relating to availability, location and cost. This leaves a substantial number of children across the pae ʻāina who are not receiving critical early educational opportunities.

The Head Start Association of Hawaiʻi (HSAH) is trying to do something about that.

In 1965, an outcome of then-President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty campaign was understanding the importance of education for vulnerable communities. That same year, UH Mānoa became involved in early childhood education research and began training faculty and community consultants for the first Head Start program.

Today, Head Start has grown to become the largest early childhood education provider in Hawaiʻi, serving about 2,300 preschool students, and over 720 Early Head Start students (keiki under 3 years old).

There are six Head Start and Early Head Start providers across the state: Honolulu Community Action Program (HCAP), Parents and Families Together, Maui Economic Opportunity, Hawaiʻi Island Family Support Services, Maui Family Support Services, and Kauaʻi Child and Family Services. Together, these providers represent the HSAH.

HCAP Head Start operates primarily out of Department of Education (DOE) classrooms, with over 70 center-based classes.

“We strive to form collaborative relationships with our principals, with our complex areas, and with the DOE,” explained Hawaiʻi Head Start Collaboration Office Director Ephraim Schwab. “The value of early childhood education is shared by the DOE and Head Start. Principals see the value of having students be prepared for kindergarten before they begin, but also see the value of having a program that can help those in our communities with the most need.”

The Head Start program services children from all backgrounds in Hawaiʻi but has predominantly served the Native Hawaiian and Polynesian communities since it began.

“The Head Start program has become much more ingrained in the Native Hawaiian community, as our parents became our leaders and directors,” said Schwab. “The community gravitated towards being more culture-based, knowing that culture-based education enforces the identity in the communities that we serve.”

Head Start is part of the Hā Initiative that uses the framework of connecting students to the ʻāina. Head Start and Early Head Start providers all incorporate elements of culture-based learning using basic ʻōlelo in instruction, introducing food from the Native Hawaiian diet, and having guest speakers that work in culturally significant fields, such as navigation.

“When I came into this position my mindset was, ʻhow do we make this relevant, practical and meaningful to our students and what role can I play in that,’” said Schwab. “It’s been a big part to share that and see how we engage nationally as a Head Start association of Hawaiʻi in promoting our values as being uniquely Hawaiʻi.”

Head Start is federally funded, so qualifying children and families are eligible to receive quality educational services at little to no cost. “We encourage our programs to go out into the community because we know we aren’t helping everyone who can utilize these services,” said Schwab.

“We have these resources that are available, and we want families to have what they need; whether it’s with our wraparound services, with WIC or SNAP, and if receiving these resources can help lessen the stress on the family, that is huge for us.”

Head Start’s wrap-around services offer part-day, full-day, home-based opportunities and inclusion programs to help best fit the needs of each individual family and child.

“We have a program that can help your family – and it might be able to offer you things that the DOE cannot offer,” Schwab noted. “So, when parents are working to make ends meet, they have a preschool they can afford. They can go to work [knowing] their children will be taken care of in a safe environment.”

Head Start’s dedicated directors, managers, teachers, mentors, family advocates, teaching assistants, and health and maintenance staff work collaboratively with parents in the program to facilitate educational opportunities for the students.

“Our job is to empower Hawaiian keiki – and keiki of all cultures island-wide – and their families to ensure early access to education and support,” said Pauahi Leoiki, HCAP’s Head Start Eligibility, Recruitment, Selection, Enrollment, Attendance family advocate.

“We work with families by connecting them with resources to meet their needs and become active advocates for their own ʻohana. We conduct parenting education workshops that teach families communication techniques and developmentally appropriate interactions they can use in their homes that are valuable in maintaining a healthy connection between the child and parent, as well as between the parents themselves,” explained Leoiki, who is assigned to Oʻahu’s Waiʻanae Coast.

“HCAP Head Start provides leadership opportunities for parents through our Policy Council and Parent Committee monthly meetings where families are invited to join and contribute to curriculum and activity planning with their child’s teaching staff on a weekly basis,” Leoiki added.

“Through my seven years with Head Start, I have seen families thrive to become engaging community members and return to HCAP Head Start, joining our team through various roles, whether it be as family advocates themselves or teaching staff,” said Leoiki.

“Meeting families and assisting them in reaching their goals is the most rewarding aspect of my job. Hearing feedback from our families about how much of an impact HCAP Head Start has had fulfills my purpose to continue serving our community.”

Head Start is currently working to expand its services to reach more under-served families across Hawaiʻi.

For more information go to www.hcapweb.org/headstart.

The post Filling the Need for Keiki to Succeed appeared first on Ka Wai Ola.

Driving westbound on the H-1 from Hawaiʻi Kai, just outside the Wilder Avenue exit is a golden mural of a portrait of Israel Kamakawiwoʻole and Don Ho with the letters reading, “Hawaiian.”

This was the first mural that grassroots art collective 808 Urban created in 2007 and would revisit five years later, as muralists who worked with graffiti were still being turned down and chased out of places.

John “Prime” Hina, the founder of 808 Urban, has devoted the past 17 years into seeing his backyard project unfold into a thriving business that has created over 1,000 large-scale murals beyond Kakaʻako, reaching other Hawaiian Islands and other countries around the world. Hina has continued to serve the local communities in Hawaiʻi, all while emphasizing the importance of pushing art forward in the context of culture.

Before Hina’s vision of 808 Urban came to life, he had his own journey as a respected tagger on the streets from 1983-1987.

“Growing up in Honolulu we didn’t speak our language. I loved hip-hop culture so much because it filled the void of not growing up with the Hawaiian culture, so hip-hop became that language and then graffiti became my outlet where I would just express myself,” said Hina.

After stepping away from tagging, Hina started a family and his children’s own curiosity would reintroduce graffiti back into his life.

“One day when my kids came home from school, my son had my daughter ask me if they could paint the garage with their friends,” said Hina. “Fifteen minutes later, I smell spray paint, and I open the garage door, and I see all these kids tagging my wall. I was like, ʻwhat are you guys doing?’ And they said, ʻoh dad we’re doing this new thing called tagging.’

“I was upset, but not because they were tagging, but because it was ugly. There was no thought in their letters. I broke it down for them, telling them about the dance and flow of it.”

Hesitant for his kids to go down the same path that he had, Hina wondered if there could be a change. He pitched the idea of teaching kids to use spray cans for good to various state government officials and department heads, but nobody went for it.

After 25 years of keeping his street identity discreet, he met with some of the “old time” graffiti artists revealing his identity for the first time and asking for their support. Anecdotally, Hina shared that they were surprised to learn that he was Hawaiian – they had always suspected that the artist known as “Prime” was Asian.

“They respected the stuff I did on the streets, but they weren’t keen on the idea of me doing something legal,” said Hina. “I was going to go do it, because the kids needed a different path and at that time, nobody understood.”

For six months, 808 Urban was in Hina’s backyard, where he made his own walls with pieces of plywood. The project quickly evolved from working with his own children, to their friends, and eventually to over 180 students.

“It became too much for my own personal space. I went back to the state, showed them the statistics I had of the kids showing up,” said Hina.

With the help of Sen. Suzanne Chun Oakland (Senate District 13), Hina was finally able to find a home where he could teach and mentor young artists at the Pālama Settlement.

For two years, 808 Urban hosted workshops always intending to give back to the kids in attendance – and then the emerging art scene in Kakaʻako came calling.

“The founder of POW! WOW! Hawaiʻi came to me and asked for help. We formed a partnership, and I did the first mural in Kakaʻako. From that point on it just blew up,” said Hina.

“My whole thing was making sure the murals we do have a Hawaiian story attached to it. We have these amazing artists that come here from all over the world, and they don’t know anything about our culture – and if we don’t speak up about our culture, then they’ll never know.”

Hina and his co-directors Laetitia Kealakukui (Kukui) Mahoney and Ralph Dela Cruz began to develop their own mural process that would give more meaning to why they do what they do.

Inspired by microbes, fossilization and genealogy, Hina explains that the mural process can be broken into four steps. Manalima – or the power of the hand, participants placing their hand in the paint and then on the wall to show the genealogy of the community. Pilialoha – the collected water from the community mixed with the paint used in the mural. Moʻokāpala – the design or pattern. Moʻolelo – which he describes as, “doing a mural that is appealing enough to the eye but speaks a different language to the ones that know.”

As more murals have been painted, Hina is excited for 808 Urban to tap into their own merchandise by introducing the first-ever coloring pencil set, Waihoʻoluʻu, labeled in the Hawaiian language and Nā Mea Hawaiʻi, a collection of coloring pages that grew from different projects 808 Urban did for Queen’s Hospital’s adolescent psych ward, for Pūnana Leo, and for families during the pandemic.

“The intention was to further our culture by giving them the visual and our interpretation of a story. We took a lot of time to think about other mediums, so if you don’t have a colored pencil or crayon, you can watercolor the page, tear it out and laminate it, so the kids can put it on the wall.

“We didn’t just put something together; we thought about what else it could become afterwards to always keep creating.”

The post Leading a New Generation With Art and Culture appeared first on Ka Wai Ola.

Kauaʻi born and raised sisters, Lana Simmons and Alia Galvez are breaking barriers as Native Hawaiian wāhine stepping into the traditionally male-dominated industry of roofing.

Simmons and Galvez are the proud owners of Kauaʻi Island Roofing LLC, serving communities across the island of Kauaʻi. Their introduction to roofing began around 10 years ago, when the sisters found themselves at a place in life where they were able to take on something new and separate from their role as wives and mothers.

“I had a friend who was the office manager of a roofing company based on Oʻahu,” said Simmons. “They were looking for salespeople and I thought okay, let me try it – and I ended up doing good on the sales side.

“I asked my sister if she would join because I needed a little help, and we did it together as partners through sales. We would end up doing everything from beginning to end for the business, so we eventually decided to start our own business and get our license. That’s kind of how this happened.”

In 2019, Kauaʻi Island Roofing LLC was born.

Initially, the sisters’ clients were mainly their family and friends, and their work focused on residential roofs. Today the company has expanded, doing more commercial work.

Their clientele has grown without any formal marketing efforts other than the “coconut wireless” with the testimonies of their clients playing a crucial role in their success.

Simmons and Galvez work side-by-side with their four-member roofing team.

“We do everything from top to bottom. We don’t have office staff so, between the two of us, we take on all the tasks,” said Galvez. “It works well for us right now and the fact that we get to do this together is a huge plus.”

Roofing is typically an industry dominated by men; however, the sisters’ passion for their work led them to become entrepreneurs in a field where women are either absent or marginalized.

“I feel like it works to our advantage. We are very thorough, organized and responsive, so I think we have the upper hand,” said Galvez. “There are a lot of male roofers and sometimes potential clients will be like, ‘you guys can’t handle this job,’ but we’re up to the challenge. We can figure it out and get it done.”

Simmons and Galvez incorporate Hawaiian values into their business practices and put the families that they work with first.

“[Our values] drive everything that we do. We are working with people that we are going to see at the grocery store or a family party,” said Galvez. “We are going to give our extreme best effort because we have that value at heart and always make sure that we take care of the homeowners to get them a solid roof.”

“A lot of our roofs are for local clients, and that was initially our start. We wanted to help all the locals be able to get a new roof, not just the tourists that are moving here and buying houses,” added Simmons. “Now we’ve expanded a bit, and we can take care of both sides.”

Watching their mother operate her own business influenced the sisters’ ambition to become business owners themselves.

“Our mom has also always been a business owner, and she raised us with the mindset where ‘you can do that, you can start that, you can take the risk and go for it,’ so she definitely played a role as far as giving us that push to do things,” said Simmons.

To date, Kauaʻi Island Roofing’s biggest and most memorable job was working on the Kauaʻi Museum. The sisters had several partners to help make that project happen.

“We used a very special clay tile that took months to make. As it is a historical building, we dealt with the historical society, getting permits, working with the county and with other Native Hawaiians,” said Galvez. “Chucky Boy Chock, the museum director, played a crucial part. He is Hawaiian and he wanted a Hawaiian company to do the work, so it was a special experience.”

As for the future of their business, the sisters hope to acquire their own equipment and company trucks and would love to see their roofing team grow large enough to take on multiple jobs at once.

“We are very grateful for where we are today, and we are thankful for all the blessings that got us here,” said Galvez. “We look forward to the future and all the exciting things that are going to happen with our business.”

To learn about services, go to: www.kauaiislandroofing.com
call: (808)652-1613 or (808)625-2967

Follow them on social media:

• Instagram: kauaiislandroofing
• Facebook: /kauaiislandroofing

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