Programs
It started in 1979, on 5 acres of abandoned land owned by the Catholic Diocese of Honolulu. The Wai‘anae RAP Center was developed for high school students that struggled to function in a regular classroom setting. The youth would come to Hoa ‘Āina O Mākaha from Wai‘anae and Nānākuli High School and care for the land with traditional Hawaiian values. Through this initial project, students learned how to nourish themselves by planting seeds of hope and watching their seedlings grow into the programs serving our community today.
Nā Keiki O Ka ′Āina — Children of the Land
In 1987, the principal of Mākaha Elementary, Hazel Sumile, approached Gigi and asked if he was interested in working with her students. Nā Keiki O Ka ‘Āina was born shortly after and continues to be the core program offered by HAOM in partnership with the neighboring grade school.
Its principles are based on the traditional Hawaiian values of mālama ‘āina (caring for the land) and each other. Resources and practical hands-on activities enhancing classroom lesson plans are offered as curriculum. This program has inspired thousands of Mākaha Elementary students for over 30 years and has also been used as a template for the “farm to school garden” initiative popularized 20 years later by several non-profit organizations throughout Hawai‘i.
Ke Ala — The Way
The Learning Center was established in 1996 as an extension of the Nā Keiki O Ka ′Āina program to visiting schools. Ke Ala is a classroom without walls holding space for over 2,000 students every year.
A delicate relationship between humans and the environment is observed by both private and public schools all over O‘ahu when they learn how to respect the land through hands-on activities at the farm.
The curriculum highlights subjects such as animal + plant care, cultural history of the Hawaiian Islands, mahi‘ai practices, and health and nutrition.
“Growing your own food” became a popular topic in 2020 when the world was on lockdown. The farm’s small yet mighty staff cultivated and sold 400 lbs of produce every week for one year to sustain Wai‘anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center’s Keiki Pantry program.
This emergency distribution of food stopped at the end of May 2021 as the farm transitioned into their third successful U-Pick Farm to Basket experience. A total of eight donation-based educational events took place within its pilot year of operating and were a hit with those who attended and volunteered. Since 2021, our U-Pick events have become an integral part of our programming for the community. As an innovation to our popular U-Pick events, we have started to host Kūpuna U-Pick events in 2024 with the help of the Papahana ‘o Kaiona Alternative Learning Program students. This extension of our U-Pick Program was developed in an effort to mālama the beloved kūpuna of our community, promote intergenerational learning and sharing, and benefit the learning of our Wai‘anae ‘ōpio.
Our U-Pick events are typically scheduled for the last Saturday of each month from 8am-12pm (unless otherwise noted). Check our Upcoming Events tab so you don’t miss any of our U-Picks! Guests are welcome to harvest from designated fields, assist farmers with planting, wash and weigh what you harvest, learn health benefits/recipes of whatever is in their baskets, and take starters home for their gardens. This event is free and open to the public increasing our community’s access to local, nutrient dense foods and bringing ‘ohana together for a fun day on the farm. We do not host U-Pick events during the summer months so we can let the fields rest, (re)build the rich soil on the farm, conserve water, and focus on farm maintenance.
U-Pick — Farm to Basket Experience
Partner Projects
Our core programs continue to expand in meaningful ways that advance our mission through place-based education, innovative partnerships, and relationship building in our community. At Hoa ‘Āina O Mākaha, we value collaboration that allows us to amplify our work.
In addition to our three core programs, we are working with key partners to feed and support our community in different ways.
Hoa ‘Āina O Mākaha is a Partners in Development (PID) Ka Pa‘alana Preschool site twice per week (Wednesdays and Thursdays) serving keiki 0-5 years old and their ‘ohana at no cost (ongoing).
'Aha Kū Kamaehu Community Partnerships to Advance Science for Society (CommPASS) NIH Project with the Wai'anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center (WCCHC) - Fostering community and 'āina connections through Native Hawaiian cultural values to strengthen youth resilience, health, and well-being in Wai'anae (10 year project with WCCHC and 'āina organizations in Wai'anae).
USDA Nutrition Incentive Produce Prescription Program - 'Elepaio Social Services of WCCHC and Hoa ʻĀina O Mākaha will conduct monthly agriculture and cooking workshops at our farm for the Produce Prescription participants who will be comprised of WCCHC patients (3 year project).
Inflation Reduction Act Urban & Community Forestry - Trees for People Project with Grow Good Hawai‘i - Growing an urban community food and native forest in Wai‘anae through tree distributions, technical support for backyard growers, and tree-focused education to promote residential-scale agroforestry (5 year project).
‘ĀINA-IS (Advancing Informal Native ‘Āina-based Inspirations in STEM) Project - Advance understanding between the intersection of Informal STEM and ʻĀina-based Learning through co-learning, sharing, and design with other ‘āina organizations.
Hoa ‘Āina O Mākaha Community Scholarship Fund
We’re excited to announce that we have started a scholarship fund that will be administered through the Hawai'i Community Foundation!
Our Hoa 'Āina O Mākaha Community Scholarship Fund was created to support students from West O‘ahu (Kapolei to Wai'anae) who are pursuing post-secondary education degrees or vocational programs related to health of people, health of ‘āina, and health of community. This scholarship used initial funds from various sources (donations, fundraising, funders) to set up an endowment so that this scholarship can provide funding to eligible West O‘ahu students in perpetuity (forever!). We’re ecstatic to have this scholarship be an integral part of Hoa 'Āina O Mākaha’s work supporting our beloved community! Check out Hawai'i Community Foundation's Scholarship Page for more information about their array of available scholarships (in search bar, type in, Hoa 'Āina O Mākaha, for additional scholarship requirements).
Our Kitchen
During the 2014-2015 school year, through a partnership with our FoodCorps service member, we offered nutrition curriculum and healthy snacks to the Mākaha Elementary students as well as visiting schools.
Below are recipes made with the children from produce grown and harvested at the farm. Come to a U-Pick event or purchase these ingredients at your local super market. Child-approved, healthy, and delicious. Enjoy!
