News Update: Stream Restoration Project Update
In 2011 we started an exciting new project at Waipa to restore an area of Waipa Stream that had become blocked with dense stands of hau bush over many years. While ... click to read more
The Waipa Foundation serves as a Native Hawaiian learning center and community center where all who visit can renew ties to the ‘aina (land and resources), and learn about traditional values and lifestyle through laulima (many hands working together).
Native Hawaiians created land divisions called ahupua‘a to adeptly manage a finite amount of island resources which provided all that was needed for the subsistence of their island communities. Ahupua‘a were often defined by the boundaries of the watershed, from the mountain peak into the sea. This way of managing the land encouraged a strong sense of interdependence between the people and the natural resources. Use of land, water and economic, social and cultural choices flourished in balance.
The 1,600 acre ahupua'a of Waipa, located on the north shore of Kaua'i, is one of the few ahupua‘a in Hawai‘i that remain intact and undeveloped. Owned by the Kamehameha Schools, Waipa is managed by the Waipa Foundation, a community-based 501c3 nonprofit that evolved from an original community initiative which began in the 1980’s.
Click here to learn more about Waipa.
