Cultural Restoration
Malama Waimea River
For the past 5 years Kumano I Ke Ala has invested and built trust in West Kaua‘i developing strong local networks which have allowed us to help drive real world social, cultural and environmental improvements in our community. For a period of two years beginning in 2017 KIKA led a massive all volunteer effort of over 650 community members to remove large silt islands that had accumulated in the Waimea River, which was all done by hand utilizing buckets. With the mantra “one bucket at a time” community members of all age groups participated and practiced laulima in the removal of over 25,000 buckets and nearly a million pounds of silt from the river, which now flows freely and without stagnation.
The Malama Waimea River project has exemplified what is possible when a community comes together as one. The success of the project set the tone for our work with at-risk youth and prepared us for the crucial work of fostering local food systems and administering our current meal distribution program.
Kulāiwi Restoration Project
The Kulāiwi Restoration project is an ‘āina-based volunteer and education project centered on using farmlands to educate new generations of farmers, restore cultural resources, and move toward sustainability. Project staff, volunteers, students and interns have taken part in both the physical and cultural restoration work by participating in invasive species eradication efforts, and by learning cultural protocols associated with mālama ʻāina practices such as oli (entrance/permission chants), mo‘olelo (stories), wahi pana (sacred places), and mea kanu (native plants.)
Additionally, KIKA works with other non-profits such as the Native Hawaiian organization, Alu Like and a public partnership with the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation to provide high school students and young adults paid internship opportunities to gain employment skills and on-the-job training while contributing to the restoration and propagation efforts.
