E holomua kākou: Like the hearty ‘a‘ali‘i plant, Lahaina finds resilience in the face of adversity

Three generations of the Keo ʻohana at Kuʻia Agricultural Center (pictured left to right): ʻAʻaliʻikūmakani, Kekai and Miriam.

Miriam Keo smiles at her 18-month-old grandson, ʻAʻaliʻikūmakani, as the diaper-clad tot frolics between the rich compost piles on the grounds of the Ku‘ia Agricultural Education Center in Lahaina.

Named for the robust indigenous shrub that is famed for resisting high winds and drought, this little boy, she chuckles, is appropriately named.

“He expects us to bend to his will,” Keo laughed.

Her favorite ‘ōlelo no‘eau says “He ‘a‘ali‘i kū makani mai au; ‘a‘ohe makani nāna e kula‘i.” The translation “I am a wind-withstanding ‘a‘ali‘i; no wind can push me over” is also used to describe resilience in the face of adversity.

This is a theme Keo and her family know all too well.

A year ago, Keo and her two younger children were living on the 4th floor of the brand new Kaiāulu o Kupuohi apartment complex in Lahaina while her oldest daughter, Kekai, and ʻAʻaliʻi, were living on the third floor when the deadly Aug. 8, 2023 fire not only destroyed their community but their building as well.

Raised in Lahaina, Keo now lives in Kahului and her daughter and grandson live in FEMA-subsidized housing in Kīhei. But Lahaina is home and Keo travels back there each day to take her two younger children to school at Kula Kaiapuni o Lahaina, the Hawaiian language immersion school.

“We only sleep on the other side,” she said.

Yet, within that spirit of the hearty ‘a‘ali‘i shrub, she remains optimistic.

“I think that’s kind of my nature. We live rough lives. Generationally, we’ve gone through a lot in life, so this was just another thing, one more thing to get us to breathe,” Keo said. “My motto has always been ‘Holomua!’ We’ve got to keep moving, we’ve got to keep marching.”

Anstin Rodrigues and Mililani Browning from Kamehameha Schools’ ʻĀina Pauahi Division meet with a contractor in upper Kuʻia to go over a fencing plan to keep deer and other wild animals out of future areas to be reforested.

On the same day Keo was at KAEC with her grandson and daughter, Kamehameha Schools’ natural resources manager Mililani Browning KSK’02 and senior land operations manager Anstin Rodrigues were at the top of the Ku‘ia ahupua‘a with a vendor who will assist KS with establishing fencing to prevent deer and other hooved animals from entering planned restoration sites and destroying native plantings.

As they traversed the ridges, they found glimmers of hope.

“The invasive grass is very tall but in these small pockets, we see keiki of many native plants like ʻaʻaliʻi, pili and ʻulei, popping up voluntarily. It’s really encouraging that if we’re able to control the grasses and open some of these places, we will have more natural regeneration,” Browning said.

“In similar spots, we even see our native sandalwood, ‘iliahialoʻe, that were burned in previous fires resprouting from its base, showing us just how resilient our native plant communities are. And our people are no different.”

While situations like supply chain hold-ups, procurement, permitting, lack of water and other hurdles have come up, the work to help restore Lahaina in the 1,000-acre Ku‘ia ahupua‘a owned by Kamehameha Schools continues to move forward.

The three sections of the planned restoration work include:

Ka Malu: The heritage site just above the Lahaina Bypass Highway near the Lahainaluna Road intersection, adjacent to the current memorial. The name harkens back to a traditional name of Lahaina, Ka Malu ‘Ulu o Lele.
Ipu Kukui: The middle section across of Lahainaluna High School that includes plans for food production and a much-needed native seed orchard to amplify the regionally specific ‘aʻaliʻi seeds that are needed for restoration.
Pu‘uwai: The upper reaches of the ahupua‘a where native dry forest cover will be rebuilt to provide habitat for native plant and animal species, collect rain and mitigate erosion. This is where skeletons of burned ‘iliahi trees are already giving rise to new growth of the plant.

A significant component of the plan is fencing, which will stretch across most of the perimeter of the ahupua‘a.

“Deer is the primary threat but there have been sightings of pigs and goats,” Browning said of ungulates that can eat and destroy existing native plants and future plantings.

“The purpose of Ka Malu is to be a heritage site, a place where the community can gather and experience malu – shade, shelter, protection and peace,” said Natalie Kurashima KSK’07, an integrated resource manager at KS.

“The site will include plantings of native dry forest species as well as culturally important crops.”

Native plant nursery Hui Kū Maoli Ola will assist with the Ka Malu plans with input from community.

Ipu Kukui is a reference to the historic ʻōlelo noʻeau about Lahainaluna and the kukui grove near the school. “Ka ulu kukui o Kaukaweli, ka ipu kukui pio ‘ole i kamakani Kauaʻula,” translates to “The kukui grove of Kaukaweli, the torch which is not extinguished by the Kaua‘ula wind." This section would include a seed orchard.

“In restoration across Hawaiʻi, there is a lack of regionally appropriate seeds readily available for restoration,” Kurashima said. “In Kuʻia, we found that there is a lack of seeds for the large-scale restoration that we want to do ma uka. We’re talking tens of thousands of ‘aʻaliʻi seeds. We want to produce thousands of seedlings that are genetically from the Lahaina region for our restoration in Kuʻia but also for other folks to do restoration in Lahaina.”

There’s a vision for Ipu Kukui to also be home to mixed groves, including mangoes.

“Historically there was a mango orchard associated with Lahainaluna in this area,” Kurashima said.

It’s a subject that Kaipo Kekona, president of the Hawai‘i Farmers Union United, takes to heart. His organization works in partnership with KS’ ‘Ᾱina Ulu to manage the Kuʻia Agricultural Educational Center, which educates students and community members about Hawaiian agricultural traditions and the history of Lahaina.

Kekona’s vision takes a cue from history in how KAEC plans to expand its current footprint.

“In Lahaina, there are songs that are written about mangoes in Kuʻia. There was something called the mango line that was a focal point for the community who would gather during the season to harvest mangoes and have picnics,” Kekona said.

He said those mango lines would also follow the ʻauwai or traditional open-water ditch systems. He sees restoration of water to Kuʻia as a significant need for the ‘āina.

“We would retrace those water systems and avoid evaporation,” he said. “Alongside that, we could have a diversified food system much like Ka Malu ‘Ulu o Lele.”

Along with traditional foods like kalo and ‘ulu, newer crops could also be grown. KAEC’s greenhouse includes not only native plants but citrus trees.

“Today, we have a diversified palette. Everybody doesn’t want to just eat ‘ulu or kalo. We like our papayas, we like to add some different bananas,” Kekona said with a smile. “I like my pumpkins and my peppers…I like my Filipino food too.”

This could also translate to economic vibrancy for the area as well.

“We could employ a lot of people who are displaced right now to help us build that food system in place as they build their house,” Kekona said.

Miriam Keo agrees.

“My hope is that it will allow for, number one, more job opportunities for our west side people. Then, the next vision is that we plant fruit trees so that we not only have a healthy landscape but also so we can feed our people. We need that. Food insecurity, especially after this fire, was really brought to light. We’re looking for that and for the beauty,” Keo said.

Keo, in the months following the fire, became the first person in her family to earn a college degree from Kapi‘olani Community College. She’s now working with compost producer West Maui Green Cycle located at KAEC.

“Lahaina is home. Our kūpuna is down there in Waiola Church. They are all buried there,” Keo said. “I am optimistic. I feel like somehow, we always make it through. Sometimes we have to breathe a little harder to get through but we cry, wipe away the tears and move on.”