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Individuals, partners, and organizations who help support our org. History Kuleana are rights and responsibilities, both based in relationship to land. Kuleana also refers to particular parcels of land. Prior to 1850, kuleana were: Under Hawaiian land tenure, families could stay and pass this ʻāina to their descendants, even as ruling aliʻi changed, as long as they cared for it well. When the land was privatized in 1850, less than 1% of all ʻāina in Hawaiʻi, called kuleana, were awarded to Hawaiian makaʻāinana families who lived on and tended the land. Less than 28% of the eligible population of adult males was awarded. Extensive information was recorded about these kuleana parcels including family and place names, information on surroundings, hydrology, and cultivation. These lands are house sites, taro patches, some fish ponds, or salt pans and often contain iwi (bones). Places where Hawaiian families continue to care for and live on ʻāina in the same areas as their ancestors are increasingly rare. Those families which continue to hold kuleana and other family lands on the island of Kauaʻi are finding they no longer can due to rising property taxes tied to exorbitant area sales prices, forced partitions by family members or others who acquire one of many shares, debt, and focused efforts at acquisition by realtors and surrounding property owners. Many families no longer own or live on their properties but continue to gather there, fish, teach children and grandchildren, care for family parcels and surrounding area, visit burials and seek ways to maintain presence and connection while fulfilling kuleana to their home. Kīpuka Kuleana nurtures contemporary models of relationships to place rooted in kuleana as: plots of land given, by the governing aliʻi of an area, to an ʻohana or an individual as their responsibility without right of ownership [Pūkuʻi & Elbert, 1975] authority and obligation based in interdependence and community [Goodyear-Kaopua 2011, 131]

Supporting community care of lands and waters across the island of Kauaʻi Mālama Stewardship Supporting community care of ʻāina (lands and waters) across the island of Kauaʻi We participate in community efforts to mālama (care for) and restore culturally significant ʻāina. We lead cultural education programs and field trips, including our annual Kaiāulu Koʻolau Summer Program, that impart critical skills and knowledge grounded in place to the next generation of land protectors. We cultivate kīpuka (spaces of community caretaking and cultural restoration) so that families may gather, mālama, practice cultural traditions, and teach from places integral to their identities. Kaiāulu Koʻolau Summer Program A four-week program for keiki (children) focused on growing connections to community and ʻāina and cultivating a sense of identity through place. 1/20 Through this program, keiki come to know ʻāina through cultural practices, including mele and oli composition, map reading, moʻolelo and place names, fishing, foraging, lei making, hula and kanikapila. They learn how ʻāina must be cared for and sustained before it may feed community, and they work hard to mālama ʻāina, from planting native species to harvesting foods at ʻĀina Hoʻokupu o Kīlauea. Over two camping trips, they practice gathering their meals and cultural cooking techniques like building imu, pulehu, and steaming. One of the group's favorite activities is the culminating cooking competition, which gives keiki three hours to gather and prepare lunches using area ingredients. During a final hōʻike (reflection), keiki share and celebrate their learnings from the program with their ʻohana and kumu (teachers) through presentations, hula, music and a shared meal together. Special mahalo to the community members and partners who make this program possible: ʻĀina Hoʻokupu o Kīlauea, ʻĀina Aloha Economic Futures, Hawaiʻi Land Trust, Kiaʻi Kāhili, Limahuli Gardens, Namahana Education Foundation, Aunty Ann Eu, Aunty Kaninau Villanueva, Aunty Lei Wann, Uncle Atta Chandler Forrest, and Uncle Gary & Aunty Bebe Smith.

Perpetuating kuleana to place through protection of cultural landscapes and family lands. KīPUKA KULEANA Perpetuating kuleana to place through protection of cultural landscapes and family lands This place will feed you, if you know how to take care of it. - Young Hāʻena Fisherman, 2009 On Kauaʻi, long-time families are losing connections to ancestral lands due to escalating land values, rising taxes, restricted access, development pressure and other challenges that threaten identity and perpetuation of cultural practice across generations. Established in 2018, Kīpuka Kuleana is a 501(c)(3) Hawaiʻi nonprofit organization and community-based land trust that protects ancestral lands under threat and revitalizes relationships between people and ʻāina (lands and waters) on Kauaʻi. We strive to grow kīpuka (places of community caretaking and cultural restoration) grounded in kuleana (responsibility) in every ahupuaʻa (traditional land division from mountain to sea) on Kauaʻi. Vision Kupa ʻāina ʻohana (long-time families) continue to thrive in, share the history and practices of, and care for every ahupuaʻa (traditional land division from mountain to sea) on Kauaʻi. Mission Perpetuating kuleana, ahupuaʻa-based natural resource management and connection to place through protection of cultural landscapes and family lands.

Get the latest updates from Kīpuka Kuleana Good News September 25, 2024 Publication about Kīpuka Kuleana Our publication in Frontiers in Sustainability explains why ancestral land protection and community stewardship are essential to climate adaptation on Kauaʻi. It also weaves together lessons in Land Back from our community partners in California, Louisiana and Hawaiʻi. September 12, 2024 Spotlight in Pacific Business News Our new Executive Director Tina Aiu shares why she is inspired by Kīpuka Kuleana's work and her goals for the nonprofit in an interview with Pacific Business News in this small business feature . August 6, 2024 Sarah Barger hired as Development Director Hired in 2021 as part-time Director of Programs, Sarah has been Kīpuka Kuleana's first and only staff until this summer. Now she moves into a full-time Development Director role, working alongside our Executive Director. July 1, 2024 Tina Aiu to lead organization as Executive Director Tina Aiu, a co-founder of Kīpuka Kuleana, has been hired as our first Executive Director. Mahalo Kong Radio, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Pacific Business News , Ka Wai Ola for sharing the good news. June 17, 2024 Summer Book Pick: Kaiāulu The University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s Office of Faculty Development and Academic Support selects Kaiāulu: Gathering Tides by our founder Mehana Blaich Vaughan as their summer book pick. The book is available to faculty through the online library, and you can find Kaiāulu online or in local stores. All book proceeds benefit Kīpuka Kuleana. April 27, 2024 Lahaina Homeowner's Workshop Though a Maui Aloha Grant from Hawaiʻi People's Fund , we partner with Lahaina Community Land Trust to host their first Lahaina Homeowner's Workshop, providing support and tools for land protection and rebuilding in Lahaina. Learn more about LCLT's work here . March 1, 2024 ʻOhana ʻĀina Workshop Ka Wai Ola spotlights our annual ʻOhana ʻĀina Workshop in Līhuʻe, which brought together 65 community members to share resources and manaʻo for ancestral land protection. Devember 4, 2023 Kaiāulu 's First Book Review Seattle-based writer and community organizer Siobhan Ring finds Kaiāulu: Gathering Tides during her family vacation on Kauaʻi and writes about the book's lessons through an organizing lens in this review in The Forge . October 31, 2023 Kīpuka Kuleana Founder Receives Stanford Alumni Award Mehana Blaich Vaughan, our board president and co-founder, is honored with the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability's 2023 Early to Mid Career Alumni Award . November 5, 2021 Kīpuka Kuleana Featured on Hawaiʻi Rising The Hawaiʻi Peoples Fund team sits down with co-founders Mehana Vaughan and Jennifer Luck, who share Kīpuka Kuleana's moʻolelo and why this work matters on Kauaʻi in this podcast episode .

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Way to support Kīpuka Kuleana Support There are many ways to support Kīpuka Kuleana from donating to volunteering time and skills to care for a place you love. Hōʻahu Kauaʻi Land Tax Help us protect and restore ancestral land under threat through a monthly or annual contribution to our voluntary land tax Hōʻahu Kauaʻi. Learn more and donate Kaiāulu: Gathering Tides Learn about the foundation for our nonprofit's work in this special book penned by our founder Mehana Blaich Vaughan. All book proceeds go to Kīpuka Kuleana. Read about Kaiāulu Volunteer Interested in sharing your time and skills? We'll keep you updated on opportunities to mālama and support our organization and other community groups on Kauaʻi. Complete this form Guide ʻĀina Back to Community Hands If you own land on Kauaʻi, you can share your space for education, cultural practices and stewardship by setting up access or stewardship agreements and easements. You can return ʻāina to community through estate planning, gifts, title transfers and other strategies. We can offer guidance on options - send us a note and we would love to talk story! Connect with Us

We provide tailored support to families working to keep ancestral lands  Kākoʻo ʻOhana Support We provide direct, tailored support to families working to keep ancestral lands. We work with ʻohana to craft respectful solutions tailored to particular ʻāina and circumstances, while also connecting area ʻohana to one another. Below are some examples of land protection tools that we share with ʻohana. See our Resources page for more details. Hoʻoponopono and guided facilitation/mediation : bring ʻohana together in discussions about ʻāina Genealogy research : help ʻohana research their ancestry to qualify for the kuleana tax exemption, to claim land, and to register iwi kūpuna Legal assistance : address probate, title issues, access challenges, quiet title/partition action, etc. Tax relief : work with the County of Kauaʻi tax office to qualify for any tax exemptions or set up a payment plan Conservation resources: protect ʻāina using tools like a cultural conservation easement and models like descendent-led nonprofit organizations Family land trust set-up: keep land within the ʻohana for generations to come Trust and estate planning : set up wills and trusts (revocable, irrevocable, etc.) Homeowner's financial assistance : receive grant funds and loans through groups like Hawaiʻi Community Lending Where families have lost lands, we connect them to resources for regaining ʻāina, sharing manaʻo from leaders like Keʻeaumoku and Uʻilani Kapu. We can also offer support in negotiating access and stewardship agreements, so that ʻohana can continue to care for ʻohana ʻāina without holding title. Projects and Events Inaugural ʻOhana Workshop (2016) With support from Native Voices Rising, our founders brought together 20 community members at QLCC to discuss the protection of kuleana and ʻohana lands in 2016. The manaʻo from this workshop planted the seeds for the formal establishment of Kīpuka Kuleana from 2017-2018. Wawa's Legacy (2017) We advised and supported an ʻohana that successfully protected their ancestral land through a conservation purchase in 2017. ʻĀpana ʻOhana (2020) We co-hosted an online workshop series with nonprofit Huliauapaʻa and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs that reached over 200 community members in 2020. This workshop provided resources for families and others seeking to protect kuleana and ʻohana heir properties. Resources ʻOhana ʻĀina Workshop (2023) On January 21, 2023, we hosted an in-person workshop at Liliʻuokalani Trust for 65 community members that provided resources for protecting ancestral ʻāina. Resources ʻOhana ʻĀina Workshop (2024) On February 10, we gathered again at Liliʻuokalani Trust for our annual ʻOhana ʻĀina Workshop. 65 community members, including 12 facilitators, shared manaʻo and resources for protecting family lands.

Enhancing connections to ʻāina through education AʻO Education and Research We enhance connections to ʻāina through education Lead cultural field trips with local schools, an annual summer program for keiki (children) and ʻōpio (youth), college courses, workshops, and trainings for community learners of all ages. Center stories, place names, land-use history, policy, and ecology of particular ʻāina while building capacity to care for these places across generations. 20150306_140553 _DSC0329_rv _DSC0250_rv 20150306_185908 _DSC0357_rv We assist families, community groups, landowners, and government agencies with cultural, historic, and archival lands research to aid in the care and protection of ʻāina today Specialize in māhele and kuleana records, translation, place names, archival maps, historic images, land-use plans, and analysis to support policy reforms. Train people to conduct needed archival ʻāina research on their own. Build a community archive of Kauaʻi lands, cultural practices, and ʻike (knowledge) to guide future restoration, caretaking, education, and governance. Projects and Resources (W)Anini Project A project to increase historical and cultural understanding of the past and present-day Wanini (Anini) area ʻĀpana ʻOhana Five-part workshop series in partnership with Huliauapaʻa and OHA in 2020 focused on maintaining kuleana and ʻohana heir lands Resources

Donate to Kīpuka kuleana Kīpuka Kuleana is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that accepts tax-deductible donations. To donate by credit/debit card or bank transfer, please complete the form below. Checks can be mailed to: Kīpuka Kuleana. PO Box #662132. Lihue, HI 96766. Mahalo for supporting our work on Kauaʻi!

Learn more about who we are. We feel, we have kuleana, responsibility for the land, for the people. That's what this is all about. - Kūpuna raised in Wanini, March 2015 Our Why Keeping ʻohana lands in ʻohana hands sustains communities. ʻĀina, meaning “that which feeds,” is the Hawaiian word for lands and waters. ʻĀina encompasses all that feeds us, from heavens to earth to ocean, especially relationships between places and the people who call them home, who have fed their families here across generations. Traditionally in Hawaiʻi, ʻāina, an embodiment of our Gods and ancestors, could never be bought, sold or owned, but was held in trust by the governing aliʻi of an area, who gave it to area ʻohana as their responsibility without right of ownership. Under Hawaiian land tenure, families could stay and pass this land to their descendants, even as ruling aliʻi changed, as long as they cared for it well. Today, long-time families from the island of Kauaʻi are finding it increasingly difficult to continue to live here and care for the lands that feed them. Under western and American law, people from other parts of the world, many of whom vacation on the island, can buy lands on Kauaʻi for vacation homes, real estate investments, or residence in a place that feels like paradise. The land here has become some of the most coveted and expensive on the planet, with over a million visitors a year recreating across the island. Meanwhile, long-time residents struggle, working multiple jobs to pay for food, rent, and rising property taxes tied to escalating land values; simultaneously, they face the loss of homes, decreased access to ʻohana fishing and gathering areas, and increased pressure to move from their communities and the island. Most who buy land on Kauaʻi have no idea they are displacing long-time area families, have no way to learn about the ʻāina they are becoming caretakers of, and have no connection to surrounding communities. Kīpuka Kuleana restores relationships between people and ʻāina by restoring land and the ability of local communities to care for it.