Selected
2023 Indigenous Communities Fellowship

Ma Ka Hana Ka ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi

Providing work-based learning opportunities to the youth of Hana through a service-oriented education continuum to strengthen environmental stewardship, cultural identity, intergenerational relationships, and technical skills.

Team Leader
Lipoa Kahaleuahi
To provide work-based learning opportunities to youth of Hana through a service-oriented education continuum to strengthen environmental stewardship, cultural identity, intergenerational relationships, and technical skills.

Solution Pitch 

The Problem

Hana is among Hawai'i's most remote and underserved regions with urban facilities a four-hour drive away. The community comprises 394 households, where over 71% of residents are Native Hawaiian (US Census 2020). The overall poverty rate is 22%, and the median household income is $44,059 (vs. $84,363 for Maui County).

The Solution

Hana provides meaningful work-based learning opportunities to Native Hawaiian youth in East Maui through a service-oriented education continuum to strengthen environmental stewardship, cultural identity, intergenerational relationships, and technical skills.

Stats

635 participants and immediate beneficiaries of the solution, including the primary service population of youth K-12 and recent graduates of Hana School. Through their applied learning in agriculture, building, and culinary, these youth serve the community, especially the kupuna (65+ grandparent generation).

Market Opportunity

The same isolation that has led to Hana's economic condition makes it a focal point for the retention of Hawaiian heritage. Thus, the solution provides place-based, culturally relevant solutions to the youth and community's need for economic self-sufficiency and food sovereignty.

Organization Highlights

Hana partners with over 20 other non-profit organizations and agencies each year to serve its rural and island communities. These partnerships range from promoting local events and services to providing produce to weekly and monthly meal services (primarily for elders in need); from collaborating, to hosting events and activities, to working together to develop and implement curriculum to teach and engage participants of all ages.

Hana’s closest partners are:

  • Hana High and Elementary School
  • Kula Kaiapuni O Hana
  • Kahanu Garden
  • Preserve (of the National Tropical Botanical Gardens)
  • Hawaii Farmers Union United - Hana Chapter, and Ala Kukui

Partnership Goals

Ma Ka Hana Ka ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi seeks:

  • Assistance in access to professional data management consultant services for successful program activities and partnership building along with building organizational capacity and the youth’s cultural and technical skills.
  • Expertise in smoother transition towards data optimization.
  • Advise on building relationships outside of the community to meet growing needs.
  • Human resource support.
What is the name of your organization?
Ma Ka Hana Ka Ike Building Program
What is the name of your solution?
Ma Ka Hana Ka ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
To provide work-based learning opportunities to youth of Hana through a service-oriented education continuum to strengthen environmental stewardship, cultural identity, intergenerational relationships, and technical skills.
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Hana, HI
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
United States
What type of organization is your solution team?
Nonprofit
Film your elevator pitch.
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What specific problem are you solving?
We serve East Maui (population, 2,264), where the median household income is just $51,500, compared to Maui County's $95,322 (ACS, 2023). Hāna School offers the fifth-lowest percentage of licensed teachers in Hawaiʻi, and 59% of Hāna students qualify as economically disadvantaged, according to the 2024 DOE Databook.
What is your solution?
Hana provides meaningful work-based learning opportunities to Native Hawaiian youth in East Maui through a service-oriented education continuum to strengthen environmental stewardship, cultural identity, intergenerational relationships, and technical skills.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
Our solution provides place-based, culturally relevant solutions to our youth and community's need for economic self-sufficiently and food sovereignty. Our indigenous-led organization strives to meet the housing and nutritional needs of our predominantly Native Hawaiian community through youth-led agricultural, culinary, and building projects. In the coming years, as we see more Hawaiian-language-medium students on the Hāna School campus, our team will be positioned to support the use of the language across our programs. Through weekly language lessons for existing staff and new hire requirements for proficiency (or willingness to work towards) in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, we will be prepared to instruct our native-speaking generation of youth in the vocational trades. By accessing places and practices of cultural significance and Hawaiian language application through applied learning opportunities, Native Hawaiian youth will experience indigenous concepts of health that go beyond access to modern medical services or standard education.

Organization Type:
Nonprofit

Headquarters:
Hana, United States

Stage:
Growth

Working In:
United States

Current Employees:
25

Solution Website:
https://www.hanabuild.org/

Solution Socials:
Instagram
Facebook

Solution Team:
Lipoa Kahaleuahi
Lipoa Kahaleuahi
Executive Director