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.
