A Mission and a Vision
Our mission at Kekahua O Kūaliʻi is to inspire wellness and pilina through stewardship of place to create healthy community relationships with the land and each other at Kawainui fishpond. At Ke Kahua O Kualiʻi, we envision a Kauhale that fosters land management practices and supports the well-being of individuals and communities visiting Kawainui—a natural Hawaiian fishpond in the heart of Kailua, Oʻahu.
Our StoryIn 2009, Native Hawaiian practitioners were invited by the leasee to become informal caretakers of a portion of Kawainui. Formally known as the Cash Ranch for many years, an integral part of Kailua lifestyle now days past, the land fell into disrepair and neglect. The leasee wanted to see the land live again and through a chance meeting at an annual Puʻu Koholā gathering, the leasee requested the ranch land protected for the people for the purpose of agency and the practice of lifeways.
A collective idea emerged for the two ʻili, or land parcels, known as Pōhakea and Palalupe. The land was far from a serene space, but through the weeds and the overgrowth, the practitioners felt a calling to enliven and rejuvenate the land. With aloha and mālama ʻāina, the ultimate vision for the land continues to unfold, to create a space of healing, a place that welcomes and supports Kanaka Maoli practitioners and all community members to create connections with each other and with the 'āina (land). The guiding principles of healing, aloha and mālama ʻāina builds the pilina that sets the foundation of Ke Kahua O Kūaliʻi. Building pilina with one another, one stone at a time.
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