Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 7, 1 Iulai 2010 — Kūlia i ka nuʻu -- a community value [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Kūlia i ka nuʻu -- a community value

One of my favorite pīaces to visit is Kauhaīe 'Ōiwi o Pu'ukapu in Waimea. It is a wonclerfuī pīaee of learning, a pu'uhonua for our keiki. It is a school where students love being in school. They are in a plaee where they feel safe, leaming is fun, interesting anel exciting; a plaee where they know they are loved; a nurturing plaee. Just think about it. Wlien you were in school, eliel you like school? Ifyou eliel, why didyou like school? Was it because your teacher or teach-

ers belie\>ed in you anel wanted you to truly be the bestyou could be? That is Kauhale 'Ōiwi o Pu'ukapu; where the ancestors, the Administration, the faculty, the staff, the haumāna, the parents, the community believe and are totally committed to Education withAloha. I want to thank Olani Lilly, Kauhale 'Ōiwi o Pu 'ukapu Project Director, for authoring our July eolumn. Ten years ago the founders of the Kanu o ka 'Āina Learning 'Ohana (KALO) had a vision; this vision turned into a mission to grow womb-to-tomb models of education that advance Hawaiian eulture for a sustainable Hawai'i. Guided by our ancestors and the desire to kūlia i ka nu'u - striving to reach the highest for our communities we envisioned a learning destination for the entire 'ohana. This destination would be called Kauhale 'Ōiwi o Pu'ukapu. It would be a plaee for kanu o ka 'āina, or plants of the land, both literally and figuratively, to thrive and prosper in an atmosphere of aloha, a gathering plaee for those whose desire it is to eonnect to the language, culture and traditions of Hawai'i. Kauhale 'Ōiwi o Pu'ukapu located in Waimea would be home to the Mālamapōki'i early childhood education program, Kanu o ka 'Āina (Kanu) K-12 Hawaiian culture-based charter school, Hālau Wānana post-secondary education program and Ho'okauhale community learning programs. For the next several years, KALO staff would begin building capacities within

its nonprofit organization that would enahle it to eommunicate "kūlia." This included strategic planning, hnaneial stability, internal and external communication strategies and fundraising efforts. During this time KALO also continued to work on the design of the Hālau Ho'olako and continued to get input from the 'ohana, including our staff, students, Waimea Hawaiian homesteaders as well as the larger Waimea community. KALO staff participated in more than

75 community and stakeholder meetings to engage the community in creating the envisioned Kauhale. The results of all that hard work allowed KALO to make two very important decisions, first to construct phase one of Kauhale 'Ōiwi o Pu'ukapu - Hālau Ho'olako a 9,300-square-foot community facility, and second that this building would achieve the highest levels of sustainability, demonstrating an ancient yet modem practice. Hālau Ho'olako provides access to technology in an effort to enhanee learning opportunities for those interested in perpetuating Hawaiian culture, values and traditions utilizing computers and other technological tools. Opening in January 2009, Hālau Ho'olako currently serves Kanu's students in grades 6-12, Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. After school and evening hours are alive with Hawaiian language, cultural arts and even technology classes that are open to the community. We are also proud to open the doors to many other eommunity organizations that have conducted meetings, trainings, adult education classes and college prep sessions at Kauhale as well further broadening the opportunities for the community members. In May 2010, Hālau Ho'olako received external validation of its effort to kūlia in the area of sustainable design when it received from U.S. Green Building Couneil (USGBC) Plahnum certification for the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). LEED green-building ratSee LINDSEY on pagE 29

leo elele

Rūbert K. Lindsey, Jr. Trustee, Hawai'i

LINPSEY Continued from page 27

ings range from Certified, to Silver and Gold, with Platinum

being the highest standard, and are based on state-of-the-art strategies in six areas: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality and Innovation and Design. According to the USGBC web site, Hālau Ho'olako is one of only three platinum-certified projects in Hawai'i and the first school building in Hawai'i to receive a LEED rating at the Platinumlevel. This puts Hālau Ho'olako among the top green buildings in Hawai'i, the nation and even the world. It is a testament of our eommitment to kūlia as an organization and as native people in the larger movement back to mālama 'āina. As an organization we could not be prouder of this achievement and the exciting path that got us to this level. Kūlia i ka nu'u is more about the process than the end result. The well thought out and implemented process of Hālau Ho'olako engaged Kanu students from kindergarten through high school at unprecedented levels, including first- and second-grade students conducting a waste audit, whieh resulted in paper-crete stepping-stones for the gardens and a milk-based wall within the building. It also involved 6-12 students building grow tables for greenhouses and propagating thousands of native plants starting two years prior to construction. Students also painted tiles for the bathrooms, built the benches surrounding the building and reused construction waste for their annual science projects. Kauhale 'Ōiwi o Pu'ukapu is a vision created and owned by a community of keiki, mākua and kūpuna dedicated to pursuing kūlia. We share these achievements with our many supporters including the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, the federal Native Hawaiian Education Grant Program, Kamehameha Schools, First Hawaiian Bank Foundation, Bank of Hawai'i Foundation, USDA Rural Community Facilities Program, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Group 70 International, Pa'ahana ine., Tinguely Development, KALO board members and staff, Kanu students, board members, teachers, staff and families and many, many other supporters. Our ability to strive for kūlia speaks more about how our ancestors lived and our desire to create a future that balances the ancient with the modern. ■