Kaupapaloʻi o Kaʻamola
BY KA IPU MAKANI CULTURAL HERITAGE CENTER
As part of our mission to cultivate community stewardship and restore cultural landscapes, Ka Ipu Makani Cultural Heritage Center has cared for Kaupapaloʻi o Kaʻamola since 2015. Nestled in the ahupuaʻa of Kaʻamola on Molokaʻi’s southeast coast, this loʻipūnāwai (spring-fed irrigated pondfield) forms a vital part of a traditional agroecological system in which freshwater from the loʻi flows directly into Kāinaʻohe, a 17.2-acre loko iʻa (fishpond).
We honor the kamaʻāina of Kaʻamola and mahalo the Waiwaiʻole ʻOhana for allowing us the privledge to care for and learn from this bountiful place! Ola Kaʻamola!
This unique nearshore ecosystem once flourished along Molokaʻi’s southern coast, where loʻipūnāwai supported kalo cultivation and helped sustain the balance of coastal fisheries and wetlands. Today, our work at Kaupapaloʻi o Kaʻamola focuses on restoring the ecological wetland habitat and its natural functions, revitalizing traditional food systems and crops, and stewarding a place of learning for our community—especially for the next generation.
Since 2015, we have restored more than 30 loʻi, improving the health of the wetland ecosystem while reactivating ancestral cultivation practices. Through our Culture & ʻĀina-Based Education programs, we engage haumāna and ʻohana in hands-on learning that strengthens their connection to kalo cultivation, loʻipūnāwai and wetland stewardship, and the ʻike kūpuna embedded in this landscape.
Our long-term vision is to deepen understanding of loʻipūnāwai cultivation and the broader loʻi-to-loko iʻa connections while empowering the next generation of kiaʻi ʻāina.
This work sustains not only local food systems, but also the relationships between people, place, and practice.
