Jan. 13, 2026

Some 1,800 volunteers activated their aloha ‘āina during the Mo‘okuapā lā hana and celebration at He‘eia Loko I‘a on Dec. 13, 2025. The historic day on ‘Āina Pauahi in the moku of Ko‘olaupoko saw these dedicated participants complete the final 300 feet of the 1.3-mile kuapā. They filled that gap with 120,000 pounds of ko‘a passed hand to hand in buckets. In addition, volunteers cleared and opened five new lo‘i, cleaned six existing lo‘i and dug a 700-foot ‘auwai to carry freshwater from He‘eia Stream to the fishpond.

The accomplishment would not be possible without the vision and dedication of KS ‘Āina Ulu partner, Paepae o He ‘eia. Founded in 2001, the nonprofit provides Hawaiian culture-based education via stewardship of the 800-year-old fishpond, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

As kahu, Paepae o He‘eia organized scores of supporters who worked over nearly 25 years — a generation — to restore the kuapā and health of the pond, which had deteriorated to the point where it was no longer recognizable.

The Mo‘okuapā gathering celebrated the ea — restoration — that’s taken place here, and its inoa is significant. Mo‘o means “perpetuation,” and kuapā refers to the wall that encircles the loko i‘a.

Not all Hawaiian fishponds have kuapā. The walls of most of the ones that do are straight or semi-circular. He‘eia Loko I‘a is unique, its kuapā is circular with no start or end points.

For Keahi Pi‘i‘ōhi‘a KSK’06, Paepae o He‘eia’s restoration coordinator, that metaphor of unbroken connection to place is meaningful. He believes his kuleana is putting people in the footprints of the kūpuna. Even if their ancestors were never at He‘eia Loko I‘a, he pointed out, they can be the first person in their ‘ohana to kōkua it.

“The mana they leave in the pōhaku, the mana they leave in the ko‘a, remains,” Pi‘i ‘ōhi‘a said. “I hope when their mo‘opuna come, they feel that. Whether your lineage, your mo ‘okū ‘auhau, existed here for 800 years or whether today is the first day your mo‘okū‘auhau begins, it never leaves this place.”

Seeing He‘eia Loko I‘a fully restored was a dream come true for Ānuenue Punua KSK’94, one of Paepae o He‘eia’s eight founders and its first education program coordinator. She grew up in Kāne ‘ohe, went to parties at He ‘eia State Park and, like many people at the time, didn’t know about the 88-acre pond.

It was a daunting task to remove the thick forests of mangrove that covered it and its kuapā. “I remember being stuck in mud, knee deep,” Punua said. “We were working with no chainsaws, just hand tools. Then you start to break away the invasive mangrove, and you realize the stones are still there…If we didn’t do this work, thousands of people would not know (the pond) was here.”

And it’s not over.

“We’ve got to keep the rocks up,” said Keli‘i Kotubetey KSK’96, Paepae o He‘eia’s assistant executive director and another one of its founders. “The weeds continue to grow. We have invasive plants, crabs, fish. It is our collective responsibility to continue the maintenance to increase the productivity of our pond.”

Mo‘okuapā participants lunched on some of that bounty, including fish, ‘ulu, ‘uala, cassava, kalo and kalo leaves. Paepae o He‘eia’s mission is to nourish the community in every sense of the word. “We’re honored, privileged, to take on the responsibility of feeding people from this place,” Kotubetey said. “Feeding minds, feeding hearts and feeding bodies.”

Neil Kaho‘okele Hannahs KSK’69, former director of Kamehameha Schools’ Land Assets Division, acknowledged the revival of He‘eia Loko I‘a began with the revival of traditional cultural practices. The leaders of Paepae o He‘eia understood that restoring the pond would require engagement of the community — it would be hard work not done for the people, but with the people.

As time passed, others noticed the progress at the pond and started to look at things on an ahupua‘a scale. “How do we get not just my land, my pond, my lo‘i kalo, my punawai to work, but how do we get the system to prosper?” Hannahs said. “That’s a return to ancestral wisdom.”

He‘eia Loko I‘a is indeed an impressive, inspiring model of success. “Look at all the people here today,” Hannahs said. “They recognize that this is an asset for our entire lāhui. We can proudly stand and say we took care of the work together. Think about that — to earn your place in a lineage that goes back so many generations, to be somebody who contributes to the strength of that line. That’s a legacy!”