Ko`olaupoko Ahupua`a Boundary Marker Project begins on the Windward side

KANEOHE—In a collaborative effort to raise awareness about the cultural connection between people and their environment, the State and City and County of Honolulu have joined a group of Windward O`ahu Hawaiian civic clubs and neighborhood boards to install new ahupua`a boundary signs beside roadways from Kualoa to Hawai`i Kai.

Dubbed the “Ko`olaupoko Ahupua`a Boundary Marker Project,” the initiative began with the Ko`olaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club, which recognized a need to help Windward residents understand which ahupua`a they live in.

“We noticed that many people here on the Windward side—Ko`olaupoko—do not really know the name of their ahupua`a,” said Mahealani Cypher, project coordinator. “We have 11 traditional ahupua`a in this moku, and knowing where we live can enrich our lives and help us understand how we can malama, or care for, the resources in our communities.”

The civic club worked to secure grants from the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA), and established a steering committee to engage the many organizations that represent the Windward area. They also invited the City and State transportation departments to sit in on the committee as advisors.

The steering committee included representatives from the Ko`olaupoko, Kailua, Waimanalo, and Maunalua Hawaiian Civic Clubs; the Kahalu`u, Kane`ohe, Kailua, Waimanalo and Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Boards; Hawaii’s Thousand Friends; the City Department of Transportation Services; and the State Department of Transportation.

The first of the Ko`olaupoko signs will be installed on Friday, January 28 at 10:00 a.m., at the intersection of Mokapu Boulevard and Kane`ohe Bay Drive, adjacent to the Aikahi Park Shopping Center, according to Chris Dacus, landscape architect for the State Department of Transportation.

“We are pleased to be collaborating with all of these community groups and the City on a project that has so much potential to educate the public, not just about the stories and history of these areas, but also about their connection to the land and ocean resources of their ahupua`a,” Dacus said.

The Wai`anae Hawaiian Civic Club and partners Nanaikapono, Lualualei, and Makaha Hawaiian Civic Clubs initiated a similar project entitled, “Signage Project: Ahupua`a: Past, Present and Future,” with area students, community leaders, and volunteers, and worked with the State Department of Transportation to have their first signage installed soon.

“Our goal is to bring awareness to the community at large—especially our keiki (children) and makua (young adults),” said Gege Kawelo, president of the Wai`anae club.  “And more importantly, to instill knowledge of the ahupua`a in which each resides, and the ability to recognize the need for self-identity, particularly when entering and leaving each ahupua`a, leaving a distinct sense of place.”

Gov. Neil Abercrombie applauded the collaboration among the many partners. 

“What we have seen here is a good faith effort between the community and our government agencies to set in place the first tangible sign of what has been written in City and State plans for the past number of years—that we believe in the traditional ahupua`a approach to resource management, sustainability, and stewardship for today’s people and generations to come,” Abercrombie said.

Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle echoed the governor’s remarks by commending the civic clubs and the neighborhood boards:

“Let’s hope this initiative leads to more community involvement in caring for natural resources in these ahupua`a, helping government agencies to ensure the health and well-being of every community,” Carlisle said.

The ahupua`a boundary marker sign features a symbol of a traditional stone ahu topped by a pig’s head, used in ancient times during the time of makahiki. The sign has been adopted by the State Department of Transportation as a new state standard for ahupua`a markers, Dacus said.

Cypher said the boundaries used for the project include 16 locations for the new signage, and were determined by the use of an 1876 Kingdom of Hawai`i map—what she called “the last traditional ahupua`a boundary map recognized by the ali`i of the Hawaiian government prior to the 1893 overthrow.”

For more information, visit http://www.koolaupokohcc.org/Home_Page.php.