Video: MA’O Organic Farms
As Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia continued their journey along Oʻahu’s Leeward Coast, the crew was greeted by community members who long awaited their return. One group in particular, was MAʻO Organic Farms who welcomed the crew to their ʻāina deep in the valleys of Waiʻanae. Crew members returned this hospitality by hosting MAʻO aboard the waʻa.
“I really believe that relationships are going to save the world. So coming here on Hikianalia and Hōkūleʻa was another reminder of that,” said Kaui Sana, a farm manager at MAʻO Organic Farms.
These relationships extend to the deeper connection of mauka to makai, which we as kanaka find identity and a sense of direction.
“We’re only a moment between two eternities What is my kuleana? What am I doing in the present, what am I doing for the future? What am I doing with all the knowledge that all my kūpuna left me? It’s like what Uncle Maka was saying, like it’s more than a boat; it’s your connection to the past, it’s your own knowing of where you are in the present and for me, that’s like what we’re trying to do at MAʻO,” reflected Sana.
After completing the MAʻO college internship program, Kaui understands the need to “grow” farmers who will help move Hawaiʻi back to a sustainable state.
“I grew up through MAʻO Organic Farms. We may not be growing as much traditional foods as we want, like kalo, ʻuala, we have maiʻa, you know, banana and stuff like that, but we grow vegetables- we grow kale, we grow lettuce, we grow turnips and it’s way different, but the practice is the same. The energy and the intention that goes into what we practice is Hawaiian. That’s the value,” explained Sana.
It is the understanding of this value that shines light on the purpose of every path traveled in Hawaiʻi, whether on land or at sea.
“To be able to be out in the open and just see nothing but know where you’re going. Must be a really amazing feeling. And that’s the same concept why everyone is watching Hōkūleʻa on her voyage. That’s their magical solution to finding a way back or knowing where our point is in these two eternities,” said Sana.
