About Us
KA IPU MAKANI CULTURAL HERITAGE CENTER FOR MOLOKAʻI, HAWAIʻI
Ka Ipu Makani Cultural Heritage Center is a Native Hawaiian led 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based on the island of Molokaʻi, Hawaiʻi. Our work supports the stewardship and perpetuation of Molokaʻi’s cultural and natural heritage through community-based resource management and heritage preservation.
Grounded in the belief that the people of Molokaʻi are the stewards of this place, we develop programs that strengthen cultural knowledge, restore ancestral landscapes, and promote traditional Hawaiian practices of preservation, restoration, and cultural perpetuation.
Our
Vision
Ka Ipu Makani Cultural Heritage Center envisions a community deeply connected to the cultural landscapes, histories, and knowledge systems of Molokaʻi. Guided by kūpuna and grounded in tradition, we work to ensure that cultural knowledge, stewardship practices, and island histories continue to inform the future of our community.
Our
Mission
Our mission is to encourage community stewardship through the preservation and restoration of Molokaʻi’s cultural sites, landscapes, and historical materials while promoting the island’s arts, languages, history, traditions, and cultural and natural richness.
What We Do
• Advance community stewardship and restoration of Molokaʻi’s cultural landscapes, natural environments, and traditional food systems
• Cultivate cultural knowledge, arts, and expertise through education rooted in ʻāina, history, and traditional practice
• Preserve and safeguard cultural objects, historical records, and community knowledge that shape Molokaʻi’s identity
• Strengthen relationships with place through stewardship, learning, and cultural continuity
Stewardship
Education
Community
Heritage
Our Values
The values of our organization reflect the values of our island community. Despite our differences, we collectively honor and value the following traditional epithets that make and keep Molokaʻi, Molokaʻi.
He ʻĀina Momona o Molokaʻi
Molokaʻi is an island of abundance
The values of aloha ʻāina and mālama ʻāina are foundational elements that guide the stewardship of Molokaʻi's abundant natural and cultural resources. We understand that the health of the land reflects the health of our people. We foster this delicate reciprocal relationship between ʻāina and kānaka by upholding our kuleana to actively preserve, protect, and restore Molokaʻi's resources and traditional Hawaiian food and eco-systems.
Molokaʻi He Kama Nui a Hina
Molokaʻi, the great child of Hina
The values of ʻohana and moʻokūʻauhau unite and strengthen our island community. We are resilient because of our ancestral connections to this island. We cherish and mālama our kūpuna, those with us and those who have passed. We nurture and educate our keiki and the future generations of this island by cultivating a strong cultural identity and connection to this place we call home. We are Molokaʻi, the great children of Hina.
Oʻo Ka Pule o Molokaʻi
Powerful are the prayers of Molokaʻi
The values of ʻike kuʻuna (traditional knowledge), loina (traditional customs and protocol), pili ʻuhane (spirituality), and ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language) foster our unique ideology, beliefs, and community identity. We understand that a thriving community depends on thriving traditional knowledge. We honor and respect our island's traditional Hawaiian cultural heritage and history and remain steadfast in the protection, perpetuation, and elevation of these values and cultural practices.
NĀ KAHU O IA IPU
Behind the Name
The name Ka Ipu Makani, was inspired by the mo'olelo, Ka Ipu Makani a La'amaomao (The Wind Gourd of La'amaomao). The mo'olelo references three generations of kahu iwikuamo'o, or chiefly attendants (Kūanu'uanu, Pāka'a, and Kūapāka'a) that were dedicated to their kuleana of mālama ali'i, mālama kūpuna, mālama 'ohana, and mālama ho'oilina. The epic mo'olelo is set mainly on the islands of Kaua'i, Moloka'i, and Hawai'i and portrays the significance of ancestral heritage and responsibilities. According to the mo'olelo, Ka Ipu Makani refers to the receptacle containing all the winds of the Hawaiian Islands, as well as the iwi, or bones of La'amaomao, the ancestor of the main characters and the controller of the winds. Symbolically, the ipu represents a vessel that stored ancestral knowledge and resources vital to the success of the kahu iwikuamo'o, as well as the health and well-being of the people of Hawai'i. As we seek to steward and care for our kuleana: our island communities, our families, and our cultural heritage here on Moloka'i, we hope to resemble the perseverance, skill, wit, and knowledge of these kahu iwikuamo'o, while providing a repository, an ipu, of resources to better ʻauamo our kuleana. "Ola nā iwi kūpuna", may the heritage of Hawai'i live on.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
ʻAwapuhimele Hamakua-Napoleon
President
Melani Rawlins
Treasurer
U'ilani Lima
Secretary
STAFF
Pūlama Lima
Executive Director
Kyle Simms
Moanui Farm Manager
Wailana Purdy-Avelino
Molokaʻi History Project Program Coordinator
Kilakila Orlando
Mālama ʻĀina Technician
Nāhulu Maioho
Culture + ʻĀina Based Education Director
Hikiliʻi Chow
Operations Coordinator
Ila Nako
Dryland Restoration Specialist
Nākoa Orlando
Mālama ʻĀina Technician
Melia Kalawe
Archivist
Aulani Herrod- Perkins
Kīpuka Kamalō
Program Coordinator
Kaʻohu Albino
Mālama ʻĀina Technician
