Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 39, Number 9, 1 Kepakemapa 2022 — NaHHA Celebrates 25 Years with POI & PALAKA [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

NaHHA Celebrates 25 Years with POI & PALAKA

J LAMAKU HO'OKIPA V ^ A BEACON OF HOSPITALITY "

By Mālia Sanders The Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association (NaHHA) is a private nonprofit organization founded in 1997 by Dr. George Kanahele, Sen. Kenneth Brown, and other Native Hawaiian professionals to address concerns about how Native Hawaiians and the Hawaiian culture were being perceived and represented in Hawai'i's tourism economy. They knew the visitor industry in Hawai'i needed to elevate its consciousness and operating priorities. From the beginning, our goals were to execute the groundwork needed in order to solidify the foundation of Hawaiian eulture as the most important investment in Hawai'i's tourism model and to use that foundation to provide opportunities for the development and advancement of Native Hawaiians as future leaders. What started as a small group of 12 Hawaiians "talking tourism" has grown 25 years later into an organization that is regarded as a leader in cultural tourism and a resource for Hawaiian culture in hospitality in Hawai'i and beyond. From these ambitious beginnings there are new projects and programs that have been cultivated to further execute NaHHA's mission and to address the challenges and opportunities tourism brings. As a mainstay of our educational programming, NaHHA conducts cultural education and workforce trainings whieh are guided by the values of mālama, aloha, ho'okipa and kuleana, whieh are consistent elements of all of our programming. With this kahua, NaHHA has also been working on bridging the gaps been the community and the industry by creating programming that supports capacity building for community nonprofits that are

I engaged in regenerative activities. The Kaiāulu Ho'okipa program encourges nonprofit sustainablility, capacity building and self-sufficiency, and has grown the number of "voluntourism" activities around the state. In utilizing the visitor as a meehanism to execute this work we gain a more I respectful and responsible visitor, further supporting our communities' desire to have tourism give back more than it takes. NaHHA has grown our educational programming beyond the classroom to expand the lessons deeply rooted in our culture into a cirucluar economy program called Pākolea whieh focuses on removing the barriers for Hawai'i-based businesses to gain access to the visitor industry. 1his program creates opportunities for loeal goods and services to be consumed by the industry and allows small businesses in Hawai'i to gain access to visitor-facing retail marketplaces, keeping loeal business capital gains continuously circulating in the Hawai'i economy. As we continue to holomua and execute the work of our mission, NaHHA invites you to celebrate 25 years with us as we host our 25th Anniversary Gala, POI & PALAKA, on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022, at Kualoa Ranch from 4:00 - 7:00 p.m. With a nod to our past and a vision for our future, POI & PALAKA will feature a modern farm-to-table kalo experience by Chef Kealoha Domingo, dessert selections, signature cocktails made with locally grown ingredients, live music all evening long, a silent auction, a general store featuring locally made products by loeal and Native Hawaiian artists and practitioners, and mueh more! For sponsorship and ticket information regarding this event please email gala@ nahha.com or visit www.nahha.com/gala. ■ Mālia Sanders is the executive director of the Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association (. NaHHA ). Working to better connect the Hawaiian community to the visitor industry, NaHHA supports thepeople whoprovide authentic experiences to Hawai'i's visitors. For more information go to www.nahha.com Follow NaHHA on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @nahha808 and @kuhikuhi808.