

Just like the process of hehi, stomping, and turning over the lepo to prepare a patch for the next cycle of growth, this new year brings with it new nutrients and abundance; excitement for what’s to come.
My family had a banana patch in Maunawili for 40 something years. My dad was first generation in Hawaiʻi, born in Okinawa. Momi is the person who first introduced me to the poi from Hoʻokuaʻāina. She told me, “Audrey, you gotta have this poi cause it’s the best one on the island.” I go, “Yeah right. Poi is poi.” Then she brought me some when I went to the dentist, because she was my teeth-cleaner. I said, “Oh my god, this is out of this world!” So I started going to Hoʻokuaʻāina.
2020 marks the year we take a step back as an ʻohana and makaluhi. Literally translated makaluhi means tired eyes but in this case, we use it as an adjective to describe “a period of rest or feasting which follows a prolonged season of toil” (wehewehe.org). We have certainly toiled and there is much more that lies ahead, but we are purposefully taking this year to makaluhi – to sit back a bit and gaze with satisfaction at how far we have come.
Here we are, already at the end of the first month of what promises to be another fantastic year. 2017 was a booming year for Hoʻokuaʻāina. During Christmas break, as a staff, we took a much-needed rest for 2 weeks from groups, harvest, production, and just all the normal day to day operations of our...
Life “after the fundraiser” fondly became referred to as ATF during the chaos of planning over the last couple months. Our staff could barely see the light at the end of the tunnel as our 10th anniversary first annual fundraiser approached and all of us, although excited, couldn’t wait for the preparations to be over and for our lives to return back to normal. Normal at Hookuaaina is a pace that I used to think of as crazy busy. Next to pulling off a fundraiser, it feels like a piece of cake! Hosting groups 5 days out of the week, managing a farm, producing poi, writing grants, having random people pop in all the time, raising a family, goats, chickens, dogs, cats, no problem! I even heard the words come out of my mouth “I would much rather write 10 grants than coordinate a fundraiser!” Never in a million years did I ever imagine myself saying those words.
It’s that time of year again…. Dusting off backpacks, gathering supplies, haircuts, alarms, uniforms. It all begins to settle in that this short season of fun is about to end and everyone in my household walks around with their heads hanging low. I have to admit, Dean and I do it too. I often wonder...
I love this time of year. It usually happens around Halloween that we feel a distinct shift in season. The breeze feels different. It’s very olu olu or nice on the skin. It cools down a bit and makes you want to pull out your favorite sweatshirt and snuggle up in a cozy blanket. Okay, it’s still 77 degrees but it’s the notion of the shift that brings excitement in the atmosphere. It’s time to make a favorite soup and start preparing for the holidays. My soup pot has been working overtime lately. I love this!
Webster’s defines self-reliance as reliance on oneself or one’s own powers, resources, etc. In my last installment, I wrote about our family’s attempt towards self-reliance. Writing about it stirred many thoughts that kept tugging at me. In my greatest intentions, I planned to sit down within a few weeks and share these thoughts. Here we...
In my last blog, I shared an article on homesteading. It described, in a nutshell, the adventure that my family has embarked upon. This stirred many questions and I promised that I would elaborate. The goal for many homesteaders today I guess is to become more self-reliant. This was never our mission but in many...
Well, after many have asked, “Are you journaling this?”, I have decided to finally set my pen to paper and start this thing called a blog. It is for no other purpose than to record the events of this extraordinary and radically out-of-the-box season of our lives. It is appropriate that I start on this...
Hoʻokuaʻāina is located in the ahupuaʻa of Kailua at Kapalai in Maunawili on the island of Oʻahu. Get Directions.
For more information about our programs or how you can get involved please contact us.
916E Auloa Rd.
Kailua, HI 96734
P.O. Box 342146
Kailua, HI 96734
Hoʻokuaʻāina is located in the ahupuaʻa of Kailua at Kapalai in Maunawili on the island of Oʻahu.
For more information about our programs or how you can get involved please contact us.
916E Auloa Rd.
Kailua, HI 96734
P.O. Box 342146
Kailua, HI 96734
Reach Us At:
Hoʻokuaʻāina is a 501c3 Non-Profit Organization
© Hoʻokuaʻāina 2020 All Rights Reserved | Terms & Conditions | Privacy | Site By Created By Kaui
Hoʻokuaʻāina is a 501c3 Non-Profit Organization
© Hoʻokuaʻāina 2020 All Rights Reserved | Terms & Conditions | Privacy | Site By Created By Kaui
Hoʻokuaʻāina is a 501c3 Non-Profit Organization
© Hoʻokuaʻāina 2020 All Rights Reserved | Terms & Conditions | Privacy
Site By Created By Kaui