introducing our newest project...

Creating Oceanic pathways...walking the stick of our ancestors

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This is a 5-month hands-on traditional Micronesian canoe building project designed as a cultural/scientific education and cross-cultural unity project for twenty at-risk Micronesian and Native Hawaiian youth between the ages of 13 and 18 living on Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi. The goals of this project are to overcome major cultural loss experienced by these youth as well as to build up their resilience as they experience major socio-economic challenges and difficult inter-ethnic relations among their Pacific Islander peer groups in their day-to-day lives. Students who complete this project are expected to have gained a truly unique skill set in canoe building, which will give these youth a strong sense of pride and purpose as important facilitators in the intergenerational perpetuation of this cultural tradition. In addition, students are expected to have gained greater understanding of the historical alliance between Micronesian and Hawaiian peoples, and from these foundations, have the ability to build on these relationships in the future.

our programs

papahana hoolauna

Introductory field trips and class visits for K-12 students
Papahana Hoʻolauna is a service offering Classroom Visits and Kānehūnāmoku waʻa field trip days to Kualoa Regional Park, where students and teachers get on the canoe and learn first hand what its like to be a voyager. All of KVAʻs programs highlight and emphasize math, science, and literacy. Papahana Hoʻolauna allows KVA to have greater impact, reaching a broader range of individuals on the island of O‘ahu and Hawaiʻi. The project perpetuates cultural knowledge, skills, experiences and values, often with positive life-changing impact for the students involved. 

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kū i ka mana

Project and Place based learning for HKM 9th graders
Kū i ka Māna is a program of depth designed to nurture contemporary students of wa‘a culture who are cognizant of their place and kuleana as torch-bearers in an important aspect of the unfolding Hawaiian renaissance.  Kū i ka Māna is currently refined for grade 9 students at Hālau Kū Māna, where captain and crew visit on a weekly basis for the entire school year. 

hālau holomoana

Maritime Vocation Program for HS Juniors and Seniors
Hālau Holomoana is a year long program consisting of 180 hours of total instruction, culminating in a 10 day open ocean voyage (click here for images of the voyage). Hālau Holomoana having garnered planning input and commitments of support from retired kūpuna who fulfilled successful maritime careers as well as skilled seamanship professionals, cultural practitioners and master navigators, reflects a promising inter-generational, community-based approach. Most importantly, Hālau Holomoana prepares youth for careers that provide a comfortable livelihood while also affording ample time away from work to give back to the community through lifelong learning and perpetuation of Hawaiian canoe culture.
THE FOLLOWING CLASSES ARE CURRENTLY ACCEPTING SIGN-UPS
Kanehunamoku Class Visit
Plan an in-class visit from the Kanehunamoku captain and crew who will share their knowledge of traditional navigation, its history, and contemporary uses.
Waʻa Experience Day
Plan a class field trip to Kualoa Regional Park where students gain hands on learning experience in traditional waʻa navigation.
Produced by the Papa Waʻa students of Hālau Kū Māna NCPCS.