Our vision
E hoʻāla kānaka, e mālama ʻāina momona.
Inspiring the people of Kahana to arise and sustain the land and community in health and abundance.
Our mission
Through advocacy, community-based economic development projects, cultural and sustainability education, and ma ka hana ka ʻike (building knowledge through practice, and leading by example), we perpetuate traditional wisdom from our kūpuna (ancestors), and restore our collective kuleana (responsibility) to mālama ʻāina, mālama ʻohana, and hoʻoikaika pilina kānaka (care for the land, our families, and strengthen community relationships).
Our moʻolelo
It all started with…
It all started with a small dream. Aunty May Au of Kahana dreamed of managing a curatorship with the State of Hawaiʻi for what was once Kam Mon Store on Kahana Valley Road. Kam Mon Store once supplied Kahana residents with basic needs and in itʻs own way brought the community together in supplying families with essentials. The State later rebuilt what was once Kam Mon Store and it became a space to hold stories and pictures of families thriving in Kahana Valley.
In 2008 Aunty May gifted Hoʻāla ʻĀina Kūpono to a group of young kanaka from the valley and as these young kanaka grew, learned, and experienced life so did the goals and intention of our organization. As our kūpuna continue to have faith in us to carry on their moʻolelo, and share our Kahana with the world, our Board continues to look to our kumu, our source of learning which is Kahana to add to the foundations our mākua and kūpuna share with us. By doing our kūpuna awoke the kūpuna in us and we hope to continue to reawaken those same kūpuna in others.
Who we are
Board Members
Kamalani Johnson, President
Kealaulaokamamo Leota, Vice President
Shaunny Keaweehu, (Acting) Secretary
Rachel Soares, Treasurer
Mark Alapaki Luke, Director
Hinano Teragi Tangaro, Director
Maluhia Fukumitsu, Director
Staff
Kahiau Wallace, Executive Director
Oliva Wallace, Project Director
Our Programs
Our programs focus on growing pilina (connections) with our honua (earth) in ways that feed us physically, mentally, and spiritually. Our programs are ʻohana (family) oriented because ʻohana makes up kaiāulu (communities) and our kaiāulu thrives when our ʻohana grow together on stable foundations.
HOʻĀLA KE KILO Fall & Spring break program
Hoʻāla ke Kilo is an ongoing program during the fall and spring breaks at Huilua loko iʻa in the ahupuaʻa o Kahana, that allows all ages from keiki, ʻōpio, mākua, and kūpuna to reestablish our pilina kanaka (social relationships) in our kaiāulu (community) through our pilina honua (foundational relationships to Earth). We focus on our values to nurture our kilo (observation) skills of our individual selves and how we care for the land that sustains us.
KAPU KA HĀLOA Summer Program
Our Kapu ka Hāloa Summer Program focuses on our moʻolelo kanaka (personal stories) through the story of Hāloanakalaukapalili, the first kalo of Hawaiʻi, the first Hawaiian. We highlight the natural phenomena that is needed to sustain kalo; the land base of Kahana that our huli kalo (taro top) is rooted in, the multiple water ways that quenches its aʻa (roots), and the movement of the celestial bodies of Sun, Moon and Stars that feed and rejuvenate our hā (stalks). This program provides various opportunities of intentional connection to ʻāina such as loʻi kalo restoration, learning and maintaining our water pathways, and being mindful of the natural habitat that surrounds us as we learn about our familial connections to ʻāina.
MĀLAMA HUILUA
Loko iʻa kuapā (Hawaiian engineered fishponds) are an amazing ʻāina (land) feature that utilizes our kai (seawater) and wai (freshwater) bodies to recreate an estuary environment to create a comfortable habitat for fish to thrive in. Loko iʻa are manifestations of a cooperative community working together to build and raise food. Our Mālama Huilua project is an ongoing mālama ʻāina (caring for that which feeds) work project with Friends of Kahana as our lead and Hoʻāla ʻĀina Kūpono as a support system along with numerous community organizations that share in the labor.
KŪKULU KUMUHANA O KOʻOLAU LOA
Kūkulu kumuhana is the act of concentrating our collective energies at a specific time to achieve a common goal whether it is to celebrate an individuals achievement or to pray for the well-being of our whole community. Kūkulu Kumuhana o Koʻolau Loa was our way of sharing the ʻike/knowledge that has been shared with us over the years as students and as an organization to strengthen moʻolelo (shared stories), oli and mele (chants and song), and ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language).
KILO KAI
Our Kilo Kai Program was started by our very own Shaelene Kamakaʻala of Kahana Valley. It began as part of her assignment at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa School of Law to find a need in the community and share solutions.
![✨DAY 4✨ GIVE ALOHA @foodlandhi
“E HOʻĀLA KĀNAKA, E MĀLAMA ʻĀINA MOMONA”
Here at Hoʻāla ʻĀina Kūpono, our vision is to inspire the people of Kahana [and our broader communities] to arise and sustain the land and community in health and](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d1ac7f93e7c1100013b2fc4/1725513438649-63XGPDOIY1Q6DSWL4SGX/image-asset.jpeg)
Mahalo for supporting our efforts whether near or far.