I’m dedicating this month’s column to the vision of I Ola Wailuanui for a very special place: Wailuanuiahoʻano – which includes the lands where the former Coco Palms Hotel once stood.
The district is a unique and sacred area that represents an important part of Kauaʻi’s history and was once the island’s social, political and religious center. I Ola Wailuanui is a nonprofit community-based organization formed and managed by Kauaʻi residents for the purpose of preserving, protecting and restoring Wailuanuiahoʻano and the environmental, historical, and cultural treasures located therein.
They strongly oppose the development of any hotel and aim to develop a plan and partnership to acquire and manage the site. Their vision is to restore Wailuanuiahoʻano to a flourishing space for cultural enrichment, education, conservation and food production; to develop a thriving Hawaiian cultural and education center, agricultural park, and resource for generations to come. They propose a community process that honors the deep history of this place, both ancient and modern, led by individuals with ancestral ties and roots.
The site was surrounded by ancient heiau, the birthing place for royalty, the site of astronomical tracking of the rising heavens; and a gathering place and social headquarters in ancient Hawaiʻi. It was said to be King Kaumualiʻi’s favorite place to live.
Māhele records show that the seaward portion of the former Coco Palms resort encompasses the Mahunapuʻuone burial grounds. There are heiau and sacred temples starting from the mouth of the Wailua river all the way to the summit of Waiʻaleʻale.
Ancient loko iʻa (fishponds) – Loko Puʻuone (also Loko Hakuone) and inland fishponds Weuweu and Kaiwiʻiki (also Kawaiʻiki) – are still present on the property.
In old Hawaiʻi, these fishponds were used for fish caught in the ocean. The captured fish were placed in saltwater ponds then slowly moved to freshwater ponds for fattening. The ponds are estimated to be between 600 and 800 years old.
I Ola Wailuanui’s goal is to create a public place of cultural enrichment, historic preservation, land conservation and spiritual nourishment; an educational and interpretive gathering place, a center for Hawaiian cultural stewardship on Kauaʻi, and a hub for learning.
They want to provide a place for Hawaiians and locals of all backgrounds and ages to reconnect with this sacred and culturally significant space. Through outreach, ʻāina-based land restoration projects and an established educational center they want to inspire, reconnect, educate, empower and employ those closest to this ʻāina.
Their broader vision includes: 1) A piko for Hawaiian cultural advancement; 2) A gathering place and community space; 3) Agricultural restoration and local food production; 4) Lāʻau lapaʻau medicinal and Native Hawaiian gardens; 5) Loko iʻa restoration and food production; 6) A place for the arts (i.e., a musical amphitheater and hula mound) and; 7) A place for learning (i.e., a museum, language, history, legends, crafts and games). If you would like to kōkua, email: IOlaWailuanui@gmail.com.
