For 25 years, we have worked in partnership with the community to cultivate abundance in West Oʻahu. Now, we have a rare opportunity to transition nearly 250 acres in Mākaha into agriculturally productive land for the benefit of the community.

As part of this effort, we plan to adopt a model of community stewardship to support the long-term health, equity, and sustainability of our region. Our vision for community stewardship in Mākaha includes developing housing for local people and following agroforestry-based agricultural practices that cultivate opportunity, abundance, and a rooted sense of community. We seek to adopt a hoʻowaiwai (reciprocal) and māʻona (abundant) approach, based on pilina (connection) and aloha ʻāina.

This transformative vision of community for Mākaha is a beacon of immense hope that holds the promise of strengthening food security, restoring the ʻāina, and providing housing for the next generation of local ʻāina stewards. It deeply aligns with our core belief of Mala ʻAi ʻOpio: When youth reconnect with the ʻāina, they reconnect with ancestral roots. This renewed interdependence fosters abundance, self-sufficiency, and a return to our ea, our breath of life, which is the essence of a thriving community.

This vision is also rooted in our conviction that a healthy ʻāina is essential to a healthy people. By collaborating with the Mākaha and broader West Oʻahu community, we imagine a new approach that enables the community to lead its generational transformation with the support of vital resources.