Giving Back
He ʻōpu hālau.
A house-like stomach.
A heart as big as a house. Said of a person who is kind, gracious and hospitable.
(ʻŌlelo Noʻeau no. 869)
Giving back to our community and initiatives close to our hearts is an integral part of who we are. Since 2021, we have donated a portion of our proceeds to the following two organizations:
Located in the ʻili of Waipao, in the ahupuaʻa of Heʻeia, in Koʻolaupoko on Oʻahu, Papahana Kuaola is an ʻāina-based organization committed to creating a functional model of economic sustainability and environmental health grounded in Native Hawaiian knowledge and culture. Papahana's approach focuses on the delivery of educational and community programming. Many of the photos for our Kō Uka Collection were also taken at Papahana.
Throughout this COVID-19 pandemic, Papahana has worked tirelessly to implement creative, thoughtful programs to keep our keiki and community connected to our ʻāina and culture. Please help us mahalo Papahana Kuaola for all of its great work in our community! (Photo credit: Papahana Kuaola)
In 1983, ʻAha Pūnana Leo (APL) was created as a grassroots effort with the sole purpose of reviving ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. Since then, it has served as the preeminent provider of Hawaiian language immersion education for preschool students across Hawaiʻi and helped to lift a 90-year ban on teaching Hawaiian in public and private schools. APL has advocates for other indigenous people and raises awareness about the consequences of the loss of indigenous languages. Today, ʻAha Pūnana Leo serves as a local, national, and international model for language revitalization.
If it were not for ʻAha Pūnana Leo and its visionary leadership decades ago, it's unlikely that our ʻohana would be one growing in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi today, and we would not be positioned to create a brand informed by the language and ʻike (knowledge) of our ancestors. We further believe that quality early learning opportunities, especially those incorporating indigenous language and culture-based approaches, are essential to promote achievement for all of our keiki.
We hope that our small contribution will help continue the work of this amazing organization. (Photo credit: 'Aha Pūnana Leo)
