Hawaiʻi Rising

13. Hoʻāhu Energy Cooperative Molokai: A Grassroots Vision of Energy Justice

A conversation with Todd Yamashita, the president of the Ho’āhu Energy Cooperative Molokai (HECM). 

HECM was born out of a grassroots community effort to shape Molokai’s energy future through community-developed and -owned renewable energy projects. Their mission is to produce locally owned, affordable, renewable energy for the benefit of their members, the community, and the environment in Molokai. HECM's objectives are sustainability, affordability, resiliency, and energy independence/sovereignty through community-based renewable energy projects, workforce development programs, and community organizing.

Website: hoahuenergy.coop

Tags: Hawaiʻi, Hawai’i, Hawaii

12. Ka Pā o Lonopūhā: A Healer in Every Home

An interview about health and healing in the home with Keola Chan, the kumu at the traditional Hawaiian healing school Ka Pā o Lonopūhā.

Ka Pā o Lonopūhā was founded in 2009 to train the next generation of lomilomi practitioners. They are dedicated to reviving the practice of Lomi Ae by taking a holistic approach to health. Rooted in Mauli Ola, their goal is to raise the consciousness of traditional Hawaiian healing practices.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Lonopuha

Tags: Hawaiʻi, Hawai’i, Hawaii 

11. Kū-A-Kanaka: Education with Aloha

Meet Krisha Zane, the EA Ecoversity Administrator at Kū-A-Kanaka, LLC.

Kū-A-Kanaka is a native Hawaiian women-owned and -operated social enterprise headquartered in Hilo on Hawaiʻi Island that founded EA Ecoversity, a Hawaiian culture-based higher education and career training program that provides blended online and offline learning in an atmosphere of aloha. EA Ecoversity offers a tuition-free, personalized program designed for Native Hawaiians ages 15-30 with a flexible micro-credential model.

Website: www.kuakanaka.com

Tags: Hawaii, Hawai'i, Hawaiʻi

Red Hill DeTour with Kyle Kajihiro

Since families living in military housing first found fuel in their tap water in November, the Red Hill water crisis has mobilized a broad movement demanding the shutdown of the 80-year-old facility and the protection of Oʻahu’s water.

In today’s special episode, we join organizer and scholar Kyle Kajihiro for a DeTour, or demilitarization tour, and learn about U.S. militarism and grassroots activism in Hawaiʻi. We visit the Red Hill fuel storage facility, drive through the residential area affected by the latest spill, and pay our respects to the koʻa constructed by Hawaiian cultural practitioners outside Pacific Fleet Command.

Kyle is an organizer with Hawaiʻi Peace and Justice, the Oʻahu Water Protectors, and Mālama Mākua, and he teaches in the Ethnic Studies and Geography Departments at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

 

Tags: Hawaiʻi, Hawai'i, Hawaii

10. Makahanaloa Fishing Association: Shoreline Access and the Right to Fish

Jaerick Medeiros-Garcia and Blake McNaughton are the president and vice president of Makahanaloa Fishing Association on Hawaiʻi Island.

Makahanaloa Fishing Association seeks to grow and protect their community’s rights to provide food for their families and maintain the generational bonds to the treasured shoreline areas of Hilo Palikū. The Association is currently trying to establish permanent and protected access to the shoreline of Pepeʻekeo on Hawaiʻi Island through the Public Open Lands and Natural Resources Conservation Commission. Education, outreach, and activation of this community-focused stewardship effort is the primary goal of the Association as they fight to stop the continual degradation of access to the ʻāina that nourishes their bodies and spirit.

To see photos from our visit to Pepeʻekeo in November, visit the HPF blog at www.hawaiipeoplesfund.org/blog/.

Tags: Hawaii, Hawai'i, Hawaiʻi

9. Maʻi Movement Hawaiʻi: Ending Period Poverty in Hawaiʻi

An interview with sisters Nikki-Ann Yee and Brandy-Lee Yee, the founders of Maʻi Movement Hawaiʻi.

Maʻi Movement Hawaiʻi is a locally grown organization committed to ending period poverty in Hawai’i through service, advocacy, and education. Their mission is to provide and distribute free menstrual products to menstruators in need, while advocating for systemic change in the government, schools, and community, and bringing down the barriers of stigma and access. Their program and services serve all islands and people of Hawai’i regardless of age, race, background, or identity, and they envision a reality where women and people who menstruate live full, productive lives and menstruation is accepted as completely normal.

Link to report "Understanding Period Poverty in Hawaiʻi" (Hawaiʻi State Commission on the Status of Women and Maʻi Movement Hawaiʻi).

Website: maimovement.org

Tags: Hawaiʻi, Hawai'i, Hawaii

Celebrating Makahiki in Keaukaha

In today’s special episode, HPF takes you to Keaukaha on Hawai’i Island, where we joined the Ioane ‘Ohana and the King’s Landing community for their Makahiki ceremony in November. Featuring live music and an interview with Keli’i “Skippy” Ioane.

To learn more about King's Landing, check out our interview with ʻĀinaaloha and Haʻawina Ioane in episode 5 "Keliʻi William Ioane Legacy Foundation: Growing Up in King‘s Landing."

Tags: Hawaiʻi, Hawai'i, Hawaii

8. Ke Ea Hawaiʻi: News Media for the Hawaiian Kingdom

Meet Hema Watson and Anuhea McDougall, the two student hosts of the Hawaiian Kingdom Weekly, along with their teacher Trevor Atkins, a founding organizer of Ke Ea Hawaiʻi.

Ke Ea Hawaiʻi is an inter-scholastic student council composed of elected student leaders from Hawaiian-focused charter schools. Their project, the Hawaiian Kingdom Weekly, amplifies student and community voices by developing a channel for new minds to choose what news is amplified and whose voices amplify it, and by developing a new generation of leaders who have experience in mass media production and critical literacy.

Find Ke Ea Hawaiʻi on Facebook (Ke Ea Hawaii) or Instagram (@keeahawaii) to watch the latest newscast.

Tags: Hawaii, Hawai'i, Hawaiʻi

7. Hui Sivila ʻŌpiopio o Koʻolaupoko: Answering a Calling

Meet Kainoa Azama and ʻElia Akaka, two young leaders from the Windward side of Oʻahu who are founding members of the Hui Sivila ʻŌpiopio o Koʻolaupoko (Koʻolaupoko Jr. Civic Club).

The Hui Sivila ʻŌpiopio o Koʻolaupoko is a civic youth organization centered in the Moku of Koʻolaupoko. Their project brings the names of kūpuna from Koʻolaupoko who signed the kūʻē petitions home, honoring their bravery and recognizing them as heroes. They intend to supplement their efforts by creating educational programming to inspire and remind ʻōpio and community members of these kūpunaʻs actions, and promote the legacy of kūʻē no ka ʻāina.

Website: koolaupoko-hcc.org

Tags: Hawaiʻi, Hawai'i, Hawaii

6. Ke Kula Nui O Waimānalo: Media, Moʻolelo, and Youth Leadership

Sixteen-year-old Pāhonu Coleman leads the Koʻolele program at Ke Kula Nui O Waimānalo. 

Ke Kula Nui O Waimānalo strives to inspire youth to look to our past to build a vibrant future and a thriving community to take pride in. Koʻolele, a 12-month film and cultural exploration program, focuses on connecting youth to their culture, wahi pana, self-identity and overall well-being, pushing back on colonial injustice, and reigniting cultural pride through film. Utilizing video production, directing, and editing skills learned through the program, participants are tasked with documenting the manaʻo, moʻolelo, and mele (perspectives, stories, and songs) from esteemed leaders and kūpuna in the Waimānalo community.

kekulanuiowaimanalo.org

 

Tags: Hawai'i, Hawaiʻi, Hawaii