Kupa ‘Aina
Kupa ʻAina is paving the way for a food-secure Hawaiʻi by developing sustainable food production models and providing cultural ʻāina-based experiential education and workforce development. Located on the grounds of Kawailoa Youth and Family Wellness Center, the farm serves as a place for learning, healing and connection to ʻāina.
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ABOUT
Although the use of the word ʻāina refers to ‘land’, the use of the word ‘aina in our name is different without the kahakō -- “ʻai” means food and “na” meaning “for” while kupa means “native or indigenous”. The name Kupa ‘Aina refers to, "native foods for the people of Hawaiʻi." The name reflects the farm’s goal to cultivate the land and grow foods utilizing ‘ike kūpuna (knowledge of one’s traditional past) to provide sustenance today.
At Kupa ʻAina, we seek to learn about and understand traditional agricultural practices and then apply them to the contemporary issues we face as an island community, most importantly food security and sustainability.
The farm strives to adapt sustainable innovations and has incorporated wisdom that our Hawaiian ancestors left us in moʻolelo, ʻoli, and traditional practices. This way, our keiki will reap the benefits of healthy communities and a food-secure future.
Kupa ʻAina, is paving the way for a food-secure Hawaiʻi by developing sustainable food production models and providing cultural ʻāina-based experiential education and personal development. Located on the grounds of Kawailoa Youth and Family Wellness Center, the farm serves as a place for learning, healing and connecting to ʻāina. We seek to restore thriving island resiliency by working towards transforming Hawaiʻi's food systems through teaching about the benefits of natural and native methods of food production that are healthy, sustainable, and ʻāina-enhancing.
At Kupa ʻAina we collaborate with all other programs located on the Kawailoa campus which include serving adjudicated youth facing, homeless youth at Residential Youth Services and Empowerment (RYSE), incarcerated youth from Hawaiʻi Youth Correctional Facility (HYCF), Kinai ‘Eha, and ʻOlomana school.
In 2022, the farm created the Hoʻokahua Workforce Development Program, which means "to lay a foundation." It was created to serve youth on the Kawailoa campus as a culture and ʻāina-based program that teaches personal and professional development skills. The farm assists youth with building vocational and leadership skills as they engage in low-barrier work at the farm for 10-20 hours/week.
This past year 2024, Kupa ʻAina worked closely with the Judiciary system and Family court to create Hoʻokanaka Cultural Diversion Program exposing youth to ʻāina to help build character and values within their household in hopes of reducing incarceration/recidivism. This program consists of six consecutive Saturdays where youth learn farming techniques while understanding some basic Hawaiian values with daily reflections and journaling. Kupa ʻAina hosts 5 cohorts per year. In 2024, each Ho'okanaka cohort showed an overwhelming success rate.
Kupa ʻAina hosts Community Workdays every 2nd Saturday of the month from 9am-12pm. All ages are welcome. We provide a wide range of farm tasks that are suitable for most. Some tasks may include but are not limited to:
- Weeding
- Mulching
- Cutting/slimming banana trees
- Weedeating
- Various cleaning
- Harvesting
- Planting
- Cooking/preparing meals (on rare occasions)
All tools are provided by Kupa ʻAina.
When volunteering, please bring:
- Water Bottle
- Covered shoes
Suggestions to bring:
- Bug repellent
- Sunscreen
- Hat/Sunglasses
We welcome community groups, organizations, companies, and ‘ohana to Kupa ‘Aina Farm to rekindle your relationship with ʻāina. As a group, our team will lead you in a variety of duties around the farm to:
- Engage in team-building activities to reinforce the purpose of collaboration
- Build caring relationships between kānaka (people) and ʻāina (land)
- Share time and talent while giving back to the community
By the end of the day, your group will feel rejuvenated and mākaukau (ready, prepared) to tackle anything together.
At Kupa ʻAina we practice many sustainable ways of farming that benefit our land and people we feed. We practice natural farming, which is farming without the use of pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, and fungicides. We also practice Indigenous farming, using traditional ecological knowledge, agroforestry, and other practices. This type of farming practice incorporates trees and shrubs into agriculture lands and in return it benefits wildlife diversity and ecosystem health. Farming methods like agroforestry have been around for a very long time and was used by the Indigenous people of Hawaiʻi.
At Kupa ʻAina we have implemented agroforestry by planting windbreaks, hedgerows and alley cropping.
CONTACT US
42-470 Kalaniana'ole Hwy., Kailua, HI 96734
"Kupa ʻAina and the people working for it gave me a place to deal with trauma, both past and present. Working at Kupa ʻAina let me create. Working for Kupa ʻAina might just be "Gardening +" as I like to call it, but giving back to the community is cathartic in a way. They gave me a place to heal through creation, through working past what was ailing me. I'm grateful for all of the help Leanne, Celeste, and the others have given me."
Cody, Former Participant
"I learned to look at things through a different perspective, learned how to control myself, wait for the right place, the right time. This helped me change the way I think, the way I do things."
Hoʻokanaka Program Graduate, Cohort 1
"It was nice to have the Family Court staff here to celebrate with us on the last day of the program. Makes us feel like part of the same team, working together for our kids."
Parent of Ho'okanaka Participant
Cohort 4
"Many of our attorneys and staff were in their element - pulling weeds, planting crops like asparagus, and, most importantly, learning about the farm's powerful mission."
Erika G.
Community Workday Volunteer
Recent News
Kupa ‘Aina Receives $30,000 from Indigenous Tomorrows Fund Grant
In a first-of-its-kind initiative led by young people (ages 14-24), Native Americans in Philanthropy, Newman’s Own Foundation, and Novo Nordisk has awarded Partners in Development Foundation (PIDF) $30,000 from the Indigenous Tomorrows Fund. The grant will benefit PIDF’s Kupa ‘Aina Natural Farming Project (Kupa ʻAina), which is paving the way for a food-secure Hawaiʻi by…
PIDF Staff Mālama ʻĀina Workday
PIDF administration staff step out of the office and help the Kupa ʻAina team to mālama ʻāina.
Hawaiʻi Project to End Youth Incarceration Receives $20 Million Award From Kellogg Foundation’s Global Challenge to Advance Racial Equity
After nearly two years of planning, PIDF and OYAH partners are honored to receive $20 million to end youth incarceration in Hawaiʻi.
PIDF Board Connects Their “Why” During Retreat
The PIDF Board connected with each other during the retreat and heard about direct impact from programs.