Kaiāulu Hoʻokipa Program
Focusing on preparing local nonprofits and community organizations that practice and perpetuate authentic cultural experiences for kamaʻāina and the visitor industry.
In the Winter of 2021, NaHHA piloted the Kaiāulu Hoʻokipa program with travel2change as a program partner and onboarded its first cohort class in the Spring of 2022.
As part of future cohorts, representatives from 10 community non-profit organizations with a Native Hawaiian focus will learn how to adjust the operational structures of their organizations to accommodate new revenue streams within the tourism sector, focusing on topics that must be in place prior to a successful launch, such as staffing, insurance and financial planning. More information on ways to apply will be coming soon!
By way of this program, organizations will be able to access new revenue streams that will ensure the practices they share remain an authentic depiction of Hawaiian culture and values.
This award winning program was deemed the
Social Impact Entrepreneur of the Year for 2022
by the Hawaiʻi Venture Capitalists Association
NaHHA reimagines the practice of mālama through the lens of regenerative tourism for the benefit of our Hawaiʻi.
The ʻōlelo noʻeau “ʻO ke aloha ke kuleana o kahi malihini” refers to the reciprocal nature of aloha – an unfamiliar place expresses aloha through hosting a visitor, and it is the responsibility of that visitor to practice aloha to the community hosting them.
Kaiāulu Hoʻokipa: Connecting With Travelers Who Give Back
The Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association and travel2change are partnering to help Hawaiʻi non-profit organizations and community groups build capacity to host experiences for kamaʻāina and visitors in a manner that advances the community’s vision and aspirations, a key concept of regenerative tourism.
The partnership will recruit interested groups for a pilot cohort that will commence in October. The program will include sessions to develop their organizational capacity, experience NaHHA’s signature Hawaiian cultural training, develop their experience offering, and list their activity on travel2change’s platform. Cohort members will meet with existing travel2change activity hosts, organizational development experts, NaHHA’s team of trainers and practitioners, and other professionals tailored for the cohort’s success.
Applications for the 2021 cohort are NOW CLOSED.
Since 2011, travel2change has curated activities to connect mindful travelers with communities. Their website, travel2change.org, offers opportunities to join the stewards of special places across Hawaiʻi and work side by side to mālama native ecosystems, working fishponds and farms, and engage with our home on a deeper level. The visitors contribute their work/labor/mana, and any activity fees support the work of the stewardship group.
This work to grow opportunities for visitors to participate positively in the community is guided by the vision of the founders of both organizations, the strategic plan of the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority, the priorities of kamaʻāina as expressed in the Destination Management Action Plans, Hawaiʻi’s sustainability goals in the Aloha+ Challenge, the global UN Sustainable Development Goals, and the guiding principles of the ʻĀina Aloha Economic Futures Declaration.
Regenerative Tourism Mobile Workshops
Mānoa Heritage Center
AM Workshop: 9am-12pm
PM Workshop: 1pm-4pm
This 3-hour Mobile Workshop will include lunch and feature a regenerative activity nestled in the ahupuaʻa of Waikīkī. Guests will visit the Mānoa Heritage Center on a guided tour of Kūkaʻōʻō Heiau to learn about the cultural site as well as a hands-on cultural experience with another non-profit partner E Hoʻomau O Nā Mālama I Nā Iwi Kūpuna where participants will prepare kapa, kaula hau (hau cordage) and/or kūkaʻa lauhala (hala leaf bundles), with resources that will be donated to lineal descendants of unburied iwi (ancestral remains) uncovered in development or due to climate change.
There are limited parking spaces available and carpooling with other participants, taking the city bus, or using the NaHHA shuttle to get to and from the location is going to be an expectation of this visit.
Under the Mōhalu Moon
Evening Workshop: 5:30pm-7:30pm
This 2-hour evening Mobile Workshop is conducted in partnership with Ka Mahina Project and features a unique opportunity to learn about the Hawaiian Moon Calendar and how one can apply this ʻike kūpuna, ancestral knowledge in today’s world. We will be looking at all thirty phases of the moon, investigating moʻolelo, stories of the moon, and identifying key star constellations that we can observe even in the city lights. The mōhalu moon will be rising and will provide enlightenment throughout our experience.
This Mobile Workshop is taking place at Ka Lewa Lānai which is located on the 4th Floor rooftop of the Royal Hawaiian Center. Parking will be validated. More logistical information will be shared with participants after registration is confirmed.
For more information on mobile workshops and how you can register for any of these regenerative activities please email info@nahha.com
