Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 35, Number 4, 1 April 2018 — Born is the forest, long live the [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Born is the forest, long live the

. MO'OLELO NUI I C0VER FEATURE

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Halau Kealaokamaile and Kumu Keali'i Reichel have been formidable exponents of hula and cultural education for decades, but the laek of permanent access to 'āina has kept the hālau from realizing the fullness of its educational programs. For po'e hula, eonneeīion to land is not only important for practical purposes, but also integral to the cultural practice itself. But many kumu hula today "have to find, beg or borrow a space for us to practice our traditions and lineages," Reichel comments. To change that, his hālau has embarked on a six-acre native habitat reforestation project that blends the line between culture, environment, and practices. This 'āina, nestled below Pi'iholo and adjacent to the Kalena ponds, was given to Hālau Ke'alaokamaile by land management group Hōkū Nui Maui. After pushback from the community against the previous developer, Hōkū Nui Maui purchased 258-acres with the intention of revitalizing the land and creating a regenerative farming community. Agriculturally, Hōkū Nui has been practicing non-selective rotational grazing

with cattle, sheep and ehieken to restore fertility where there were onee pineapple fields. While many developers often find themselves at odds with the community, Hōkū Nui Maui takes a unique approach, intending to build homes in order to fund agriculture and to create a cultural centerpiece within the development. Integrating cultural stewards and practitioners positions this community development in uncharted territory. The management of this 'āina is a natural progression for this hālau and its partners. "Hula integrates just about every aspect of cultural practices," Reichel notes. This project will nurture "practitioner crops" that ean be processed within the hālau facility, such as I wauke for kapa practitioners, ipu for ho 'opa'a, l

and lā'au for dying practices. The hālau will also train researchers to uncover mo'olelo, mele and oli that reveal what onee grew at this particular elevation - 'ōhi'a, 'iliahi, 'a'ali'i and kukui, among others. These not only include practitioner crops, but also eanoe

plants - kalo, mai'a - alongside forestry. 'Ohana Hewahewa, Hōkū Nui's forester managers, have also served an essential role in executing the project's goals. To date, they have hosted

numerous workdays, partnering with Pūnana Leo, fellow Maui hālau, kūpuna groups and private and public schools. Alongside his brother, Kepa, and father, Ka'awa, Koa Hewahewa sees himself as a servant of the 'āina, aiming to

GRANTEE SP0TLIGHT > Hālau Ke'alaokamaile's "Hānau ka Ulu Lā'au, Ola Mau nā Hua" received a two year, $240,697 programmatic grant from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to begin reforestation of a six-acre native habitat alongside its first permanent §2?? hālau facility. The project, translated as "born is the forest, long live the seeds" £1^ is seated in a larger envisioned 30-acre Native Habitat Corridor at Hōkū Nui jjsn Maui located in Makawao, HamakuaS poko, Maui. The first of its kind on Maui, the dedicated hālau facility will . include a dance space, a resource center | and an area to process practitioner crops. Together, this space culminates to form a modern-day kīpuka for cultural pracjSgg tices, pracitioners, education and native habitat; all of whieh are informed and guided bv traditional 'ike of the nlaee.

Above, ot right, Ka 'Ohana Hewahewa explaining their style of planting, whieh they've dubbed "poly-forestry" (Polynesian Agroforestry). Below, right, planting day with the executive team from Westin Nanea hotel. - Photos: Starr Knhnku Ritte-Cnmara

Hōlau Ke'alaokamaile, led by Kumu Keali'i Reichel, performing at Kukahi 201 8 at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center. - Photo: l. Anthony Martinez Photography Maui

restore connections within the eommunity and 'āina. Their curriculum focuses on teaching hydrolic cycles, kaulana mahina and watershed restoration. In Koa's view, their work aims to make native plant, forest and

watershed restoration relevant and appealing again. Through engagement with the larger community, they are slowly learning how to help the community overcome the ehallenges they encounter. Koa hopes

that their success ean create more jobs and illustrate the eeonomie viability of this kind of work. This 'ohana mindset not only informs their work ethic, but also the 'ohana-centered approach to 'āina

: restoration. The Hōkū Nui plant : nursery, named Kapū'ao, or the womb, will give life to 30 different ' native and eanoe plant species. Koa : teaches volunteers: If a single tree is i planted alone on a hill, then it is left to battle the elements alone. If a tree is planted alongside other forestry, those surroundings will protect it; allowing all to flourish. Such is the life of our native forests. The same is true of keiki. A child surrounded and protected by mākua, kūpuna

and 'ohana is healthier. Bringing multi-generational 'ohana to the site not only imbues mana into the 'āina, but compounds that mana for the 'ohana and individual. This approach not only "feeds the community, but also the community of plants and animals, feeding all the elements that contribute to us and who we are. We are

all connected...this is aloha 'āina," says Koa. As po'e hula, the practice, in many ways, is inherently interwined with the environment and its resources. As Koa emphasizes, "there is no separation between agriculhire and culhire." This cultural 'ike is already interwoven into environmental kinship. Through physical eonneehon to 'āina, this kinship is "rekindled and re-established," says Reichel. He continues, "it's one thing to read

about it, chant about it, dance about it, but when you're actually in it, and you're able to connect with kinolau - planted in close proximity - then it really solidifies the practice and the individual." This, in turn, makes an impact on the group and then the larger community itself, adds PunaSEE SEEDS ON PAGE 17

It s one thing to read about it, chant I about it, dance I about it, but when | you re actually in it, ! and you re able to connect with kinolau - planted in close proximity - then it really solidifies the practice and the individual.w

— Keali'i Reichel, Kiimu ofHalan Ke'alaokamaile

Above, a teacher and student from St. Anthony High School planting a koa tree. - Photo: Starr Kahaku Ritte-Camara

y HO'OKAHUAWAĪWAI > ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY

bttUb Continued from page 15 hele Rrauss, executive director of Hālau Ke'alaokamaile. This spiritual benefit does not stop at kānaka. Initimate knowledge of 'āina also informs the way we care for it. Koa hopes to normalize protocol for these kinds of hana: "The work doesn't end at planting a tree. What you do before and after the planting is just as important." Koa also points out that this 'āina and its resources have not heard oli and the voices eall out to them for a long period of time. To Reichel, "integrating hālau practices with agricultural practices makes perfect sense for us." The challenge, however, was that county laws and regulations did not reflect a hālau facility as an allowahle use on Agricultural Land. Currently, zipline tours and paintball courses are allowable uses. Although the project received immediate support from all levels of government, "hālau" facilities could not be fit in. OHA's grant allowed the project to receive an exemption from the county as an "accessory to agriculture." Going forward, instead of trying to classify hālau as one of the current categories, the county eouneil hopes to introduce an amendment to explicitly include hālau facilities as an allowahle use within agricultral zones.

For Hālau Ke'alaokamaile, OHA's grant not only provided a funding mechanism to implement the project, but also vouched for and leveraged the success of the project on a county and state level. Throughout Hawai'i, po'e hula are innovating to carve out necessary spaces for old practices. Think PA'I Foundation's Art Center in Kaka'ako, or Hālau Mōhala 'Ilima and Hika'alani's work at Ulupō heiau. Re-establishing and re-invig-orating these pilina 'āina not only reassert our knowledge as kānaka, but also allows our long-standing practices to emerge. "How amazing would it be if every moku had a eentral and established plaee for hālau?" Reichel imagines. This kīpuka at Hōkū Nui Maui, and its skilled limahana, are uniquely positioned to illustrate that intersecting culture, agriculture, development, education and eeonomie gain is all possible, In discussing the project, Reichel was reminded of a chant that talks about the role of the 'ōhi'a as its roots break through to restore the natural aquifers. "It is a reminder of how important that tap root is so that we ean refill our eultural aquifers." Together, Hālau Ke'alaokamaile hopes to produce a template for sustainable restoration that is accessible and transferrable to other hālau, the Maui community and Hawai'i pae 'āina at large. ■

Above, Kumu Keali'i speaking to the group.

j Left, Hōlau Ke'alaokamaile I conducting a lō kūahu | ceremony at Ka pū 'ao planl nursery. - Photos: | Courtesy of the Lālākea ■ Foundation