ʻEHUʻEHU I KA PONO
KAILAPA COMMUNITY RESILIENCE PLAN
21ST CENTURY AHUPUA'A
To facilitate a more resilient future for Kailapa, KCA is building a vision for the entire ahupua‘a through what are being called “Campuses”.
The goal is to reconnect the ahupuaʻa system – restoring forests where there were forests, replanting agriculture where there had been agriculture, and building a thriving community.
Kō Ā Kai – ʻAha ʻAwa – October 2020
Eight full moons ago our community and ʻohana ranging from keiki to kūpuna gathered together to plant 24 niu to physically represent our presence and commitment to our shoreline and ensure that this sacred suspended water will be present for the many generations to come, in that they will always have wai or wai niu when accessing ma kai in the future. With the planting of our Niuola came the kuleana of caring for it. With no established water system ma kai our families have committed to watering these niu by hand. For the first several weeks we were watering every three days, from then it has tapered down to once a week. Our niu are growing strong and resilient as we are along with them, and our keiki have fully stepped into this kuleana running the water tank and 5 gallon buckets themselves to each niu. The joy that our keiki express when working together amongst family, neighbors, and dedicated community members is immeasurable and by far epitomizes Aloha ʻĀina.
Kō Ā Kai
Youth Stewardship program
Kō ā Kai, means shore dweller or belonging to the shore or sea. It is from this traditional perspective that the Kailapa Community Association has designed a plan to steward the 72-acre coastal shoreline of Kawaihae Komohana of Kohala Waho on Hawaiʻi island. As an island people we recognize that our resources are finite and we are responsible for ensuring that those resources are thriving for us today and for many generations to come. Our Goals & Objectives for Kō ā Kai are: Resource Stewardship, Subsistence Living, And Establishing a Thriving Community.
Our top three obligations to meet our goals are securing safe and legal access to our shoreline, inclusive of fencing, gates, parking, educational signage, and designated shoreline trails; and establishing ocean mooring and anchoring protocols. Restoring and preserving the ancient fishing village and archeological sites such as housing structures, walls, shrines, fishing koʻa, and traditional trail systems. And stewardship, resource stewardship is our chosen strategy rather than resource management, as stewardship is an action of reciprocity and relationship.
Our priority is to build strong familial ties between our Kailapa homesteaders and our ocean resources as we embrace our role as Kō ā Kai. Our initiatives are already underway. We were able to secure and establish safe access back in May of 2020 and since then we have noticed tremendous growth in our marine organisms and cleanliness of our shoreline while our coastal resources and ʻāina rests from overfishing, vehicle recreation, and camping activities.
Our cultural resources survey consists of four phases. We have begun the first phase of Geospatial & Remote Sensing, using drone technology for aerial identification of ancient sites and trails. This phase has allowed for our Pedestrian Recon Survey of our second phase to successfully map the entire 72 acre parcel. In February we will be gathering as professionals, practitioners, and community members to begin phase two of our Cultural Resource Archeological Survey.
Once this survey is complete a Restoration Plan will be created based on the findings and discussions with our Kailapa community. This cultural resource survey will instruct and guide our ocean access plan and protocols ensuring that our homesteaders will have safe and appropriate access to our ma kai resources for many generations to come. As we continue to serve our ʻāina kūpuna with our families we are committed to resource stewardship and our mission of ʻEhuʻehu i ka pono.
