Maui Nui Makai Network receives $200K from OHA to support health of land and water

The Maui Nui Makai Network today announced a grant award totaling $200,000 that will support the Native Hawaiian community through the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

The grant will help to reinforce and strengthen Native Hawaiians’ connections to ‘ohana (family), moʻomeheu (culture) and ʻāina (land and water) and support work in OHA’s Mana I Maoli Ola Strategies and Outcomes.

The purpose of the Ola Ka ʻĀina project is to support the Network’s “Maui Hikina Huliāmahi” initiative. The purpose of this initiative is to advance community-led marine management across four districts of East Maui, Native Hawaiian communities, spanning more than 60 miles of coastline. The goal of this project is to protect the East Maui coastline through incorporation of indigenous knowledge from East Maui communities into a regional makai management plan.

“The truth is, we cannot simply assume all is well and leave it to nature to manage,” said Claudia Kalaola, the Network’s director. “Fifty years ago, our resources were plentiful; today, they are not. It’s not the result of a single mistake; rather, it’s a series of changes—abandoning traditional methods, adopting new technologies, and shifting values. For me, Maui Hikina Huliāmahi represents a means of survival, employing strategies to safeguard our unique local resources and way of life, ensuring that Maui Hikina (East Maui) remains Maui Hikina.”

Maui Nui Makai Network is a group of community and partner organizations across Maui Nui (Maui, Lāna’i, Moloka’i, and Kaho’olawe) who are exerting our kuleana (responsibility) to care for the ocean in a way that honors kūpuna (ancestors) and traditional and cultural practices. They work to protect and restore healthy coastal and marine ecosystems for the people of Maui Nui using powerful place-based, collaborative strategies. Learn more at mauinui.net.