“He aliʻi ka ʻāina, he kauwā ke kanaka; the land is a chief, and the man is its servant,” an ʻōlelo noʻeau by Aunty Mary Kawena Pukuʻi which directly impacts the mission of Kākoʻo ʻŌiwi as they continue to restore the connection between the ʻāina (land) and our ʻohana (family).
Since 2006, Kākoʻo ʻŌiwi has restored productivity to over six acres of land across the ahupuaʻa of Heʻeia dedicating themselves to providing sustainably farmed fresh produce for the community. Many service days and educational workshops are led by farmers and managers who tour and direct volunteers where help is needed. Participants are put to work, mulching banana trees and attempting to avoid a run-in with centipedes, weeding taro patches alongside the friendly frogs, or pulling kalo (taro) to prepare for poi production. As an employee of Kākoʻo ʻŌiwi who has worked alongside many community members, service days have become my favorite work days because not only do I have the privilege of meeting new people but they also make my job as a farmer extremely easy. What would take me and my partner Kahiau Paik a full day of work to accomplish, the volunteers help us finish in just three hours, sparing enough time for fun in the manawai (swimming hole).
Kākoʻo ʻŌiwi has not only proved to deepen the connection between our ʻāina and our kanaka for the past 16 years but providing sustainably farmed fresh produce has also been a major accomplishment in the past 5 years. In 2020 a poi mill broke ground and made headway towards the goal of farmed fresh produce. Products such as kūlolo, kalua pig, and steamed lau are all locally made by employees, sourcing businesses such as Kay Bay Broʻs and Kualoa Ranch. Kākoʻo ʻŌiwi is demonstrating the loina (custom) of mālama, caring for the land and the people one day at a time.
