Malama Loko Ea Foundation

MLAMA LOKO EA FOUNDATION (MLEF) IS A NATIVE HAWAIIAN COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATION SITUATED AT HISTORIC LOKO EA, A 400-YEAR-OLD FISHPOND IN HALEIWA, HAWAII. WHILE SUSTAINING 15 YEARS OF EXPANDING OPERATIONS, MLEF IS UNIQUELY POSITIONED TO BROADEN THE REACH AND IMPACT OF ITS PROGRAMS THAT CONTINUE TO BENEFIT THE NATIVE HAWAIIAN COMMUNITY (NHC). INCLUSIVE OF ONGOING ENVIRONMENTAL AND CULTURAL RESTORATION EFFORTS, MLEF IS POISED TO SERVE AS A MODERN FOCAL POINT FOR NAVIGATING THE LOCALIZED IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE. NATIVE HAWAIIANS, WHO THRIVE USING INA-BASED, HANDS-ON, AND CULTURALLY RELEVANT PRACTICES ARE DEMONSTRATING THEIR COMMITMENT TO MITIGATING THE WIDE-RANGING IMPACTS OF CLIMATE EVENTS, ESPECIALLY AT ESTEEMED SITES SUCH AS LOKO EA. WHEN CONSIDERING HAWAIIAN FISHPONDS AS A MODEL FOR FOOD SUSTAINABILITY AND SECURITY, THEIR IMPORTANCE AND PRACTICALITY CANNOT BE OVERSTATED. THE ANCESTRAL ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED TO ASSESS, RESTORE, AND MANAGE FISHPONDS, THEREFORE IS IMPERATIVE. OFTEN CONSIDERED SIMPLE OR OUTDATED THROUGH A WESTERN LENS, TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE IS PROVING (CONVERSELY) TO BE INNOVATIVE, ADAPTIVE, AND RESILIENT. THIS IS A TIMELY FIT FOR MODERN CLIMATIC STRESSORS. AS A CAPACITY-BUILDING FORCE IN THE COMMUNITY, MLEF PROUDLY CELEBRATES HAVING HOSTED OVER 60,000 VISITS BY HAWAIIAN STUDENTS AND HAWAIIAN COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO PARTICIPATE IN EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS, CULTURAL WORKSHOPS, AND COMMUNITY WORK DAYS. THESE ACHIEVEMENTS ATTRACT SIGNIFICANT AND NUMEROUS PARTNERSHIPS INCLUDING ORGANIZATIONS REPRESENTING OTHER LOKO IA (FISHPONDS). SUBSEQUENTLY, THIS ALLIANCE IS COLLECTIVELY AWARE THAT THE NUMBER OF KIAI LOKO (CARETAKERS WITH TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE OF FISHPONDS) IS BECOMING SCARCE, AS REFLECTED IN HAWAIIS HISTORIC LOSS OF FISHPONDS AND THE PROPORTIONATE LOSS OF KIAI WHO MANAGE THEM. THEREFORE, THE PARTNERSHIPS ARE KEENLY AWARE OF THE NECESSITY TO FURTHER TRAIN THEIR MEMBERS UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF THE REMAINING KIAI LOKO WHO SERVE AS GENERATIONAL LIAISONS. THIS DEPTH OF KNOWLEDGE SIMULTANEOUSLY SUPPORTS THE NHCS RESILIENCE TO CLIMATE CHANGE WHILE ENDOWING LOCAL COMMUNITIES WITH A SINCERE SENSE OF SELF-DETERMINATION, ESPECIALLY AS THE PROJECT GOALS COME TO FRUITION. THIS IS KA LIU O LOKO (WISDOM WITHIN): CLIMATE RESILIENCE PROJECT. RECOGNIZING THAT TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND INGENUITY ARE NECESSARY FOR RESPONDING TO CLIMATE CHANGE, THIS PROJECT ULTIMATELY INCREASES THE NHCS ABILITY TO COPE, ADAPT, AND TRANSFORM IN THE FACE OF THE CHALLENGES AHEAD. AS THE FREQUENCY AND MAGNITUDE OF CLIMATIC EVENTS INCREASE, MLEF IS COMMITTED TO DEVELOPING ASSESSMENT PROTOCOLS THAT INFORM ITS POND MANAGEMENT STRATEGY. AN ON-SITE STAFF COHORT WILL BE TRAINED BY EXPERIENCED KIAI LOKO TO SPECIALIZE IN CULTURAL RESPONSES THAT HELP ENSURE FISH POND VITALITY, WHICH INCLUDES BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO: KILO (OBSERVATION), WATER QUALITY MONITORING, ATTENTION TO SEASONAL CYCLES, SPECIES PROPAGATION, AND NATURAL INDICATORS. THE INCREASED CAPACITY DEVELOPED AT MLEF IS FORECASTED TO BE SHARED WITHIN A NETWORK OF PARTNER FISHPONDS, ULTIMATELY BENEFITING THE LARGER NATIVE HAWAIIAN COMMUNITY. MLAMA LOKO EA FOUNDATION IS APPLYING FOR THE KAPAPAHULIAU CLIMATE RESILIENCE PROGRAM UNDER PRIORITIES 2 AND 3: ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE AND CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR INNOVATION, TRANSFORMATION AND SYSTEMATIC CHANGE FOR WHICH THE OBJECTIVES AND OUTCOMES ARE AS FOLLOWS:THE GOAL OF MLEFS KA LIU O LOKO: CLIMATE RESILIENCE PROJECT IS TO INCREASE THE NETWORK OF RESTORED AND FUNCTIONING FISHPONDS TO MITIGATE THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE. FISHPONDS WITH EXPERIENCED AND KNOWLEDGEABLE KIAI LOKOINCREASE INDIGENOUS AQUACULTURE SYSTEMS AND FOOD SECURITY FOR THE NHC, ACTIVATE REINFORCING MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS TO LAND AND CULTURE.SUPPORT WELL-BEING AND FULFILLMENT THROUGH AN INDIGENOUS APPROACH, ADAPT RESPOND TO EXTREME CLIMATE EVENTS SUCH AS INCREASED TIDAL ACTION, MAINTAIN A CULTURAL STRONGHOLD, EXPAND AND SHARE IKE KUPUNA.

FROM A TOURISTS PERSPECTIVE, HAWAII IS A BEAUTIFUL PARADISE WITH TONS OF ACTIVITIES TO DO WHILE ON VACATION.HOWEVER, TO THE NATIVE POPULATION, TOURISM MARS THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AS WELL AS THEIR OWN HOMES. THE CONTINUED STRUGGLE OF LAND BEING TAKEN DATES BACK TO ORIGINS OF THE KINGDOM OF HAWAII BEING OVERTHROWN BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT. ALTHOUGH TOURISM IS A MAJOR INDUSTRY IN HAWAIIS ECONOMY, IT COMES WITH PROBLEMS AFFECTING THEIR ENVIRONMENT, ECONOMY, AND RESIDENTS. TOURISM HAS CAUSED ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE TO THE LAND AND WATER SOURCES, WHICH HAS LED TO THE ONGOING WATER CRISIS IN HAWAII. THE RESIDENTS NOT ONLY HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE LIMITED WATER SUPPLY BUT ALSO THE HIGH COST OF LIVING. YET HAWAIIS POPULARITY AS A TOURIST DESTINATION HAS GROWN. THE NUMBER OF VISITORS HAVE CONSISTENTLY REMAINED IN THE MILLIONSWITH PRE-COVID NUMBERS FROM 2019 SHOWING 10 MILLION TOURISTS AND IN 2023 NUMBERS REPORTING WILL EXCEED 10 MILLION. THE LARGE NUMBER OF VISITORS TO THE ISLANDS HAS RESULTED IN THE MISUSE OF THEIR SCARCE RESOURCES. ACCORDING TO AN ARTICLE ABOUT THE SPRING 2022 RESIDENT SURVEY FROM KHON2, A HAWAIIAN NEWS NETWORK, 67 PERCENT OF RESIDENTS AGREE THAT HAWAII IS BEING RUN FOR TOURISTS AT THE EXPENSE OF LOCAL PEOPLE. THE SURVEY LISTS THE MAJOR PROBLEMS RESIDENTS SEE AS A RESULT OF TOURISM, WHICH INCLUDE OVERCROWDING, DAMAGE TO THE ENVIRONMENT, AND THE HIGHER COST OF LIVING.THE HOLOLEA WAHI PANA KELE AO PROGRAM WILL PROVIDE A VARIETY OF CULTURALLY INFORMED VISITOR EXPERIENCES. FIRST,THE VIRTUAL TOURS THAT LOKO EA WILL DEVELOP WILL ALLOW VISITORS TO IMMERSE THEMSELVES IN THE RICH HISTORY,CULTURE, AND LIFE OF A 500 YEAR OLD POND. SECOND,12 MONTHLY COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER WORKDAYS, WILL OFFEROPPORTUNITIES OF COMMUNITY SERVICE LEARNING AND PUBLIC OUTREACH TO THE COMMUNITY AND THE VISITOR. THIRD, MLEFWILL HOST EVENTS WHICH WILL INCLUDE FOOD, MUSIC, LOCAL STORYTELLERS AND CULTURAL PRACTITIONERS TO EXPERIENCE AVARIETY OF MEDIUMS TO EXPERIENCE NATIVE HAWAIIAN CULTURE.MLAMA LOKO EA FOUNDATION (MLEF) IS A COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATION SITUATED AT HISTORIC LOKO EA, A 500-YEAR-OLD FISHPOND IN HALEIWA, HAWAII. LOKO EA IS LOCATED IN A HIGHLY VISIBLE AND ACCESSIBLE AREA, JUST OFF OF KAMEHAMEHA HWY, THE MAIN ROAD THAT RUNS THROUGH HALEIWA TOWN. THE HOLOLEA WAHI PANA PROGRAM WILL ATTRACT AND EDUCATE POSITIVE-IMPACT TRAVELERS AND GROUP ATTENDEES WHO ARE MINDFUL OF HOW THEY RESPECT AND INTERACT WITH RESIDENTS, OF HOW THEIR MOVEMENT THROUGH HAWAII IMPACTS THE ENVIRONMENT POSITIVELY AND OF HOW THEY VALUE AND RESPECT THE HAWAIIAN CULTURE AND OTHER CULTURES OF HAWAII. THE HOLOLEA PROGRAM WAS DEVELOPED IN 2018 TO FOCUS ON THE FOREIGN STUDENT TRAVELER AND HAS BECOME OUR FIRST PAID VISITOR EXPERIENCE. THE PROGRAM HAS BEEN REVISED THROUGHOUT THE YEARS TO SUIT THE NEEDS OF THE POND AND OUR MISSION AS WELL AS THE CULTURAL EXPERIENCE THE VISITOR CRAVES. MLEF TEAM UNDERSTANDS EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS SERVE PEOPLE FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE. THE MAIN FOCUS OF THESE VISITS IS TO EDUCATE THE IMPORTANCE OF MLAMA INA AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CULTURAL SITES LIKE LOKO EA. WITH STEADY GROWTH THROUGH THE YEARS, MLEF CONTINUES TO BROADEN THE REACH AND IMPACT OF ITS PROGRAMMING TO BENEFIT RESIDENTS AND VISITORS ALIKE. NOW IN ITS 14TH YEAR OF EXPANDING OPERATIONS, MLEFS DESIGNATION AS A PREFERRED CULTURAL LEARNING SITE WITH HTA AFFIRMS ITS UNIQUE POSITION TO RESPOND TO THE INDIGENOUS PURSUIT FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AND CULTURAL RESTORATION. THE HOLOLEA PROGRAM, A TIMELY AND NECESSARY PROJECT, REFLECTS THE HAWAIIAN UNDERSTANDING THAT OVERALL WELL-BEING IS DEEPLY INTERCONNECTED WITH PLACE, LANGUAGE, AND CULTURALLY RELEVANT EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES.

OLA KAWAIOLA

KIA'I LOKO TRAINING PROGRAM