Hawaiʻi Rising

37. Project Koa Yoga: Creating Space for Belonging

A conversation about yoga and social justice in Hawai‘i with Laura Toyofuku-Aki and Victoria Roland, the founders of Project Koa Yoga.

Project Koa Yoga diversifies yoga and wellness in Hawai’i while uplifting Hawai’i’s people, land, and culture. They are expanding what yoga can look like in Hawai‘i through programs that diversify and increase people’s access to yoga, teaching trauma-informed yoga and meditation with NGO partners who serve marginalized communities such as houseless folx and survivors as well as providing scholarship-based Yoga teacher training for BIPOC and QTIA2S+Māhū folx.

Website: www.projectkoayoga.com

Tags: Hawai‘i, Hawai'i, Hawaii

36. Seed of Love: Connecting People with Place on Molokai

A conversation about ʻāina-based healing and learning for youth with Ketty Mobed, Todd Yamashita, and Cara Fitzpatrick at Seed of Love.

Seed of Love is a community care farm on the island of Molokai that works with the land and community to create healing and educational opportunities with an emphasis on youth and community members with little or no financial means. They believe that the most effective means of engaging our local and Hawaiian youth is by connecting their cultural experiences with a sense of place and purpose. A lot has changed since the pandemic and, as we return to a new normal, Seed of Love is providing an inclusive, outdoor, open-air learning platform that has important relevance for youth including educational opportunities that reflect the values, practices, and homesteading lifestyle on Molokai.

Website: seedoflovehawaii.org

Tags: Hawaiʻi, Hawai'i, Hawaii

35. Uluhāhāloa: Kalo, Cookbooks, and Community

A conversation about kalo (including ʻono recipes!) with Lahela Paresa and Kekaiokalani Naone from Uluhāhāloa.

Founded and led by Kānaka Hawaiʻi, Uluhāhāloa envisions Hawaiʻi’s economic, social health, and well-being restored in the next generation through an active connection to traditional Hawaiian practices, values, and lifestyles. Their Hāloa Circle is a twelve-week program that seeks to educate and challenge Native Hawaiians to eat their traditional ancestral food Hāloa, kalo.

Instagram: www.instagram.com/uluhahaloa/

Tags: Hawaiʻi, Hawai'i, Hawaii

Talking Story with John Witeck: How HPF Began

A special episode with HPF founder John Witeck. As we approach the end of HPF's 50th year, we sit down with Mr. Witeck to hear about how it all began.

Tags: Hawai‘i, Hawai'i, Hawaii

34. Ka Lāhui Hawai‘i Political Action Committee: Advocating for Hawaiian Self-Determination

An interview about Hawaiian self-determination with Healani Sonoda-Pale, the public affairs officer for Ka Lāhui Hawaiʻi Political Action Committee.

Ka Lāhui Hawaiʻi Political Action Committee (KPAC) is a national committee of Ka Lāhui Hawaiʻi (KLH), an ʻōiwi initiative for Hawaiian self-governance formed by and for Kanaka Maoli without the interference of the State or Federal governments or its agencies in 1987. KPAC advocates for Hawaiian Self-Determination and Human Rights set forth in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and International Human Rights Conventions. Along with the Queenʻs Court, KPAC is once again helping to organize the annual Onipaʻa Peace March and Rally on January 17, 2023, commemorating 130 years since the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Monarchy.

Website: kalahuihawaii.net

Tags: Hawai‘i, Hawai'i, Hawaii

33. Kahaluʻu Kūāhewa (Huliauapaʻa): Food Sovereignty and ʻĀina Education in Kona

A conversation about ʻāina restoration in the Kona field system with Jesse Kekoa Kahoʻonei and Kim Kahoʻonei, the site director and site coordinator at Kahaluʻu Kūāhewa (currently under Huliauapaʻa).

Kahaluʻu Kūāhewa is one of Konaʻs largest intact traditional agricultural field systems preserved within a 354-acre area owned by Bishop Estate-Kamehameha Schools. Over the past 20 years, archaeological surveys have documented at least 3,500 features, almost all of which are considered traditional agricultural features. In 2015, they began working to revitalize and restore this traditional system.

Website: https://www.huliauapaa.org/

Tags: Hawaiʻi, Hawai'i, Hawaii

32. Hawai‘i Women in Filmmaking: Getting Reel about Social Change

A conversation about gender justice in and through filmmaking with Vera Zambonelli, the founder of Hawai‘i Women in Filmmaking.

Hawaiʻi Women in Filmmaking advocates for women and girls telling their stories through film with an intersectional lens. To raise awareness and visibility of women and girls’ work in film, HWF engages in discussions around critical issues and amplify marginalized voices shared through film screenings. They host film festivals and screenings to celebrate, share, and unite people in conversation through important stories in film.

Website: hawaiiwomeninfilmmaking.org

Tags: Hawai‘i, Hawai'i, Hawaii

HPF’s Giving Project: A Love Letter to Community Action

In this special episode, get a close look at HPF’s Giving Project, how it’s taking “community giving=community doing” to the next level, and how YOU can get involved. 

Mahalo nunui to members of our Giving Project family for sharing their reflections (in speaking order): Micky Huihui, Kaulana Ing, Chase Livingston, Mary Tam, Greg Kahn, Sean Aronson, Maxx Ramos, Tyler Sonnemaker, Rachel James, James Maunakea Secritario, and Angel Permito-Kaheaku.

Learn more about the Giving Project at www.hawaiipeoplesfund.org/giving-project/.

Tags: Hawai‘i, Hawai’i, Hawaii

31. One Stop Center for Micronesians on Hawai‘i Island: ”We Become Our Own Advocates”

An interview with Dr. Wilfred Alik from the One Stop Center for Micronesians on Hawai‘i Island.

The One Stop Center was originally formed after the restoration of Medicaid access to citizens of the Compact of Free Association (COFA) nations to help Micronesians in Hawai‘i sign up for Medicaid coverage. The organization's goal is to empower the diverse Micronesian communities on Hawai‘i island to become their own advocates. In this interview, Dr. Alik shares not only how One Stop Center supports Micronesians in Hawai’i but also the history behind why people from the Marshall Islands, Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia are coming to Hawai’i and the rights they have through the COFA.

Tags: Hawai‘i, Hawai'i, Hawaii

30. Hui Kaloko-Honokōhau: Stewards to the Realm of Kanaloa

A conversation about fishponds, fresh water, and community with Loke Aloua of Hui-Kaloko-Honokōhau.

Hui Kaloko-Honokōhau is dedicated to protecting, preserving, and advancing the natural and cultural resources of Kaloko and the customary and traditional practices of Native Hawaiians of the area. Through practice as kia‘i loko (fishpond guardians), they aim to restore, conserve, and manage the area’s water, natural, cultural, scenic, historic and marine resources for the benefit, education, and enjoyment of the community and future generations.

The hui offers place based education opportunities at Kaloko Fishpond, and works with community and education groups interested in perpetuating Native Hawaiian cultural practices and fishpond rehabilitation.

Facebook: facebook.com/huikalokohonokohau

Tags: Hawai‘i, Hawai'i, Hawaii