Maui resident Cesar Martinez used to work in hospitality before the August 2023 Lahaina fire stripped him of his job, his car and his house. “It took a year to process and heal myself,” he recalled.
“It was difficult, but everything happens for a reason,” he continued. “I wanted to help be part of the solution and to fully commit to helping rebuild, helping families and just helping the community heal.”
In January, Martinez joined nonprofit HomeAid Hawaiʻi as the director of temporary housing project Ka La‘i Ola, or “the place of peaceful recovery.” He oversees a small team, including a property manager, and resides in the 450-unit modular housing community with his girlfriend and kids.
“I knew I needed a change in my career and life. This was a blessing. Being able to help this community is the biggest blessing.”
He estimates that he had moved no more than four places (mostly between hotels) in the last year and a half before finding Ka La‘i Ola online. “I feel grateful about that,” Martinez said. “However other families struggled a lot more, just trying to find normalcy. I know people who have moved around more than 10, 15 times already.”
With eight to 10 new families moving in a week, HomeAid Hawaiʻi is on track to deliver housing for up to 1,500 residents through August 2029, he noted. As of May 19, Martinez said 244 units occupied were occupied by 644 residents, who lost their homes in the fire and are ineligible for FEMA assistance.
Though his day-to-day tends to look different, he said his priority is moving families in. Starting in the fall, residents will pay a nominal fee to cover maintenance and other incurred costs. “But itʻll be way less than any rental rate here in Lahaina. Thatʻs part of being the solution, so it has to stay small but be enough for us to upkeep the property.”
Service offerings before and after move-in include case management, child, veterinary and health care, as well as access to food and community spaces.
With Phase 1 of the project complete, it is full speed ahead for Phase 2, which is about 80% complete, Martinez said. “Two more clusters of pods will be set up within the next month, and we hope to place families within the next six week. Ideally by August, all units will be occupied.”
“We are going to be housing 1,500 people here and keep them in Lahaina. It’s a great legacy to have for everyone working here.”
HomeAid Hawaiʻi CEO Kimo Carvalho told Aloha State Daily by email, “We are doing something unlike anything that’s ever been done in the state of Hawaiʻi.”
“Within just 100 days, we transformed a completely rural, undeveloped site into a community with critical infrastructure, homes and wildfire survivors living safely at Ka Laʻi Ola.
“Welcoming our first residents on the one-year anniversary of the Lahaina fires was one of the most meaningful accomplishments of my life. … Not only did we reach a vital milestone for disaster response and recovery, but we also demonstrated what is possible when we remove traditional barriers to housing — such as permitting and zoning constraints — and build with deep affordability in mind.
“Ka Laʻi Ola stands as a model of what can be achieved when policy, purpose and community come together. It is a blueprint for the future — and a promise that there is more to come.”
Carvalho added that the project was funded through cash donations, volunteerism and other donations of materials, supplies and landscaping, as well as its builders bringing in discounts. The state of Hawaiʻi and Hawaii Community Foundation are also major contributors.
“By cutting development costs, we’re able to deliver deeply affordable rents that enable families not just to survive, but to thrive. Our housing model supports economic stability and upward mobility, ensuring that more local people can afford to stay and grow in the Islands they call home.”
He said the organization's focus remains on building Kauhale communities “and supporting Gov. Green’s bold vision to cut homelessness in half.”
"We will have developed 12 villages with more than 300 homes by the end of his first term,” he said. “As we grow and evolve as a Hawai‘i-based nonprofit developer, our long-term ambition is to acquire large land parcels that will allow us to sustain and expand deeply affordable communities across the state.”
“This is about more than housing – it’s about building lasting, community-rooted solutions that provide stability, dignity and opportunity for our people. Through strategic development and public-private collaboration, we are laying the foundation for a future where affordable living is not the exception, but the norm in Hawai‘i.”
What worked for HomeAid Hawaiʻi on this project?
Aloha State Daily: What did it take to complete this project from conception to finish?
Kimo Carvalho: The first is our team. The greatest asset to a project like this is its people. More than 210 individuals and counting are personally giving their skills, talents, sweat and tears to move this project forward quick. Ninety-one percent of our construction team are Maui residents; many who lost their homes and yet are showing up because this is personal. Our director of [Ka La‘i Ola Cesar Martinez] is a wildfire survivor and represents this community today.
The second is community. Gov. Green taught me that community enables us to help people in a way we simply cannot as individuals. It takes a village, including the Lealiʻi neighbors, Lahaina advocates, and community groups who contributed to the vision of Ka Laʻi Ola being one of inclusivity, health and healing.
The third is action. Our collaboration between the state, [Maui] County and the building industry has brought together the best minds that has collectively driven forward momentum of Ka Laʻi Ola.
The fourth is resources — our state Legislature, the state Administration, the thousands of donors who contributed to the HCF Maui Strong Fund, our HomeAid America team, and our builder partners who give through their companies. The resources being put into this project is about how much love we all have for what we believe in and are wanting to support.
For more information about eligibility or the application process, please visit the Hawai’i Interim Housing Program website or call 808-727-1550.
Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros can be reached at kelsey@alohastatedaily.com.
