My experience working with Hookuaaina at Kapalai has positively benefited me in many ways. One of the greatest benefits is that working in the lo’i has given me a positive avenue to exert any pent up stress or negativity and reroute it in a positive manner. I’ve learned not to take anger out on a specific task or object, rather to be in a positive environment where my stress can melt away and there are just weeds to pull

I came to Hoʻokuaʻāina wanting to learn more about my culture and I am here now wanting to be a farmer. After tasting the satisfaction of growing my own food, I know I could never go back. I’ve come to appreciate and value the food I put into my body, just as my ancestors did. Food was sacred to them, it was their religion. In my opinion, so many problems could be solved if we just ate the food of our ʻāina. It is so much healthier for both people and the environment. I’m living to see Hawaiʻi thriving in food production and I will do all I can to make this a reality. I’m not talking about growing pineapples to ship off to foreign countries, I’m talking about restoring our kahawai, our loko iʻa, and creating more loʻi kalo. We need to create more organizations like Hoʻokuaʻāina to inspire and change more lives, just as it has done for me.

Because of working here, I see the importance of making something of myself. Working to make our people healthy. Being a leader. Being compassionate….as a father, a kāne, and as a provider. Cultivating kalo for the next seven generations also guarantees my children’s children will have kalo, and with that, aloha ‘āina. Working at Ho’okua’aina is for the betterment of us…for the betterment of Hawai‘i.

Nowhere else have I found a more inspirational and passionate group of individuals. The power that Hoʻokuaʻāina has to connect people, to bring them together and to build community, has brought me closer to people who have come to change my life and become my brothers and sisters. I have also witnessed the power of my work to make a difference in this world. The power to make a change when a change is needed. I feel that power to make a difference within me, and it has become my passion. I have always felt the desire to leave a positive impact on this world and to do something that will help people to thrive in a world where so many suffer. Now more than ever, I feel equipped to do this. I don’t know if my path is to continue to be a Mahi ʻai Kalo, but I know I’ll always need to plant myself in the ʻāina so that I may continue to grow and cultivate the land and my relationships with those around me.

The idea of community-based education with an emphasis on ʻike Hawaiʻi was/is something that strikes me as very intriguing. Modern times are ever-changing but Hawaiʻiʻs kānaka stands firm with the steadfast goals of truly living a sustainable lifestyle and passing on those positive habits to the generations that come after our time. Hoʻokuaʻāina has allowed me the opportunity to experience a full effort of community members that hui together in an attempt to eat from the ʻāina beneath our feet and more importantly share that ʻike with people of all sorts.

Now that I am older, working at Hoʻokuaʻāina has forced me to reflect on my upbringing, and realize these “Hawaiian things” and practices, mindsets, values that I was brought up with–are not normal anymore (not to say there’s one set way.) My lifelong goal is to serve my community, especially my Hawaiian people, and Hoʻokuaʻāina has opened my eyes to individuals and families whose values and cultures have been erased and absent for years upon years.

Uncle Dean and the lo’i have brought into my life love and aloha like I have never felt before. I have bonded with my fellow interns and have grown the strongest relationships of my life. Even the summer interns who started only a couple months ago feel like family to me and I already dread the thought of them leaving us. I already loved the lo’i but this summer it has become my favorite place to be. Not only is it an escape from the chaos and displeasure happening behind the scenes in my life, but a space for healing as well.