Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 11, Number 12, 1 Kekemapa 1994 — The Molokaʻi Ice House project: A dream comes true [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The Molokaʻi Ice House project: A dream comes true

by Samuel L. Kealoha, Jr. Trustee, Moloka'i & Lāna'i Many people were skeptical when the idea of building an iee

house on Moloka' i was first introduced. They said ii would bring more outside fishermen to Moloka"i's fishing grounds, meaning less fish for Moloka'i. They also said that govemment would be stupid to invest in a proiect like this

because there would either be no eeonomie returns, or the returns would be so small that it would not be worth it. When we said that we wanted to form a cooperative so the people would own and operate the business, people became even more critical. "No way," they said, "ean the people run the business. The people of

Moloka'i are too dishonest, lazy and stupid to run any business!" Then when some of us said that the majority of the cooperative's membership could very easily be

] Hawauan because Moloka'i's population is predominately Hawaiian, the kūkae really started to fly. Hawaiians and non-Hawaiian alike started whisI pering that Sam I Kealoha and his I co-conspirators

were creating a nightmare. It has been over 14 years since we first started dreaming about his project. Last July, we celebrated the opening of the Moloka'i iee House, a dream whieh many thought w ould never eome true. The development of this project represents many things to me. The facility is a plaee where our

fishing community ean receive services such as iee, sundries, refrigeration, freezing. marketing of their catches, etc. It is a plaee where we ean have meetings, training sessions and workshops. It is a plaee where the commercial or recreational fisherman, from five months old to 103 years old, ean receive services; a plaee where they ean eall themselves member and owner. It is a plaee

where a young Hawanan mother of four small children serves as a manager. It is where the majority of the board of directors are Hawaiian and the membership is made up primarily of Hawaiians. I and my fellow pioneers realize that our dreams would never have materialized had it not been for the kōkua of many people. Even though we have successfully accomplished one part of our dream, we realize that our work is far from over. The eoncerns, for example, whieh were

raised by skeptics during the past 14 years cannot be ignored, because if we are not careful, a plant such as the iee house ean easily hasten the destruction of our fishing grounds. We now dream about building a fish hatchery. We also plan on participating in the state's Stock Enhancement Program where we ean grow fish such as mullet, awa and moi for

release in the wild for the general public to harvest. Another part of our plan is to have Moloka'i's many private and public fishponds restored. Even more importantly, we must continue to empower our people and give them opportunities to succeed. Establishing a cooperative where eaeh person has a say in decisions affecting their business is one step toward empowerment. Hiring native Hawaiian employees is another step. Encouraging Hawaiians to

join the cooperative and insisting that they assume leadership roles by serving on the board of directors are other important elements of the empowerment process. Eaeh stage of this process of human development will naturally eome with other excellent ehalIenges. That, too, is part of the thrill in seeing dreams fulfilled. When you visit Moloka'i, drive to Kaunakakai Harbor and stop by the Moloka'i iee House. Don't think of our business simply as a

plaee where you ean buy iee, shave iee, fresh poke, soda, hamburger sandwiches or hot dogs. No, this building is more than that. It is a plaee where our people ean dream and work together in making their dreams reality. It is an example of dreams coming true. Editor's nole: Trustee Kealoha serves as President of Moloka'i lee House, ine. (MIH).