Waiʻanae Valley Road was still Monday morning driving up the dirt road to Kaʻala Farm as the sun’s light casted upon the lush mountains that surrounded.
Families with keiki began to trickle in, eager to help tend the loʻi, try the compost bathrooms, and even listen to stories of the place where they stood.
A conch shell wooshed, followed by an ʻoli and protocol.
In its 11th year, Kaiser Permanente Hawaiʻi’s Annual Day of Service on Martin Luther King Jr. Day kicked off across nine work sites on Oʻahu, Maui, Hawaiʻi Island and Kaua‘i, with Kaʻala being one. On the docket for the day were lo‘i kalo restoration, invasive species removal and maintenance of a heiau, all while learning about cultural health and mālama ‘āina — caring for the land as a foundation for community well-being.
Jeani Jow, Kaiser’s director of medical education and primary care operations, was a returning volunteer to Kaʻala.
“When we first met him [10 years ago], Uncle Eric Enos embraced us and taught us what was important – healing from the land and giving back to the community,” she told Aloha State Daily.
She added that meeting with fellow staff and their families all while getting dirty together “is a fun way to connect outside of work.”
At Kaʻala that day were about 50 people doing various activities on the property’s grounds.
“I’m just so grateful for all who volunteer and have done so for several years,” Jow said.
The word of the day was “pilina,” or relationship, members of the farm shared. “And that starts with aloha.”
Dr. Jessica Ono, chief of Kaiser’s West Oʻahu Medical Office, was ecstatic to be serving alongside her peers and family.
“This is one of my favorite days of the year because it really speaks to the mission of Hawaiʻi Permanente Medical Group, which organizes this across nine sites,” she said. “Every day, we aspire to improve the health of our patients and in our community, not only through medicine but really honoring, respecting and knowing the culture that our patients are coming from, the food we’re putting into our mouths, etc.
“I love the mission of Kaʻala,” she continued. “With young kids and being a family physician in Kapolei, I see patients from Waiʻanae to Waialua and get to take care of the whole family. It’s just about taking medicine outside of the four walls of the clinic.
Ono mentioned how brushing shoulders in this environment, especially with other doctors she works with throughout the week, builds relationships now and into the future.
“Being able to meet them here face-to-face is great because when you call them with a work question later on, you feel more comfortable. You can match a name to a face.
Personally, as a mom of two girls ages 6 and 8, she appreciates how family friendly this service event is. When asked what the kids get out of it, she said, the confidence to build their own garden at home and be curious.
“This day, it always happens on Martin Luther King Jr. Day to honor his commitment to service, justice and equality. For me, it’s a great way to start every year. To reset for after the craziness of the holidays and to set an intention for the rest of the year.”
In 2026, Ono plans to incorporate movement and more present time with her family, she said.
Mentorship is also a pillar of Kaiser’s commitment to the community. Its Moku Mentors program sorts John A. Burns School of Medicine students into various “learning communities” across Oʻahu for four years of hands-on civic engagement. Kaʻala Farm is one of the sites.
Dr. Bradley Chun said in a recent report, “I’ve been working with students my whole career, and I’ve had opportunities to take care of patients and teach students at the bedside, but this provides a different aspect of teaching, and I found it to be extremely rewarding.”
Kaiser’s 2024 Community Health Snapshot notes that Kaiser invested more than $38 million to Isle communities in the areas of health care, workforce, housing and food.
For more information, visit kpinhawaii.org.
Meet some of the stewards of Kaʻala
Nearly 50 years ago, Ka‘ala Farm was born out of a grassroots effort to restore ancient Hawaiian taro terraces and reconnect people to the land. Today, the mission remains but has taken shape as a cultural learning center focused on educational and environmental programs, which aim to serve the Wai‘anae moku, communities spanning from Nānākuli to Kaʻena Point.
The organization holds title to a 7.5-acre parcel where the farm sits, with approximately 97 acres of land in total from the state Forest Reserve and Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.
The nonprofit is funded through donations, grants, contracts and community partnerships. Currently, the team is comprised of eight staff and about 14 part- and full-time seasonal interns.
In the 1970s, Ka‘ala Farm Executive Director Uncle Eric Enos of Makaha, along with Walter Keliʻiokekai Paulo and Eddie Kaanana, discovered the land and worked to rebuild its taro terraces and watering systems.
“The site called us. We didn’t know what was here,” said Enos, a self-described “student of history” with a background in art.
“Hawaiʻi and the idea of aloha is reciprocal. You have to respect each other, each other’s religion, culture and relationships. People are hungry for that kind of loving relationships,” he added. So, I think places like Kaʻala represent that. Because we’ve been doing this for so long – bringing back the water, bringing back the life, bringing back the community, healing the land and people – it can be difficult to do with so many challenges.”
A common saying at the farm is "We’re all the same color in the mud," or "the earth is not racist, we’re all equal in the mud."
Enos added, “We’re all equal. It’s one family. God’s creatures, all of us, all forms of life.”
“We’re fortunate we’re still here. ... The young people are our hope and future. This is what keeps us going.”
AK Ahi was originally invited to the farm more than 10 years ago for kapa making, he told ASD. He started as a maintenance worker and is now a caretaker of the land.
“Kaʻala fosters cultural practices from times of old. Kalo itself is the ancestor to Hawaiian people,” he said. “What makes us unique is that we are a cultural learning center, not a production farm. We give to the community.”
Annually, the farm hosts various groups and more than 3,000 students, he added.
Ahi took a few moments to teach the ʻohana gathered Monday morning about the land’s history.
“Honua was the first river that flowed from a little leak in the mountains to revive the forest – mauka to makai in every way,” he said. “There’s no life if there’s no water and the ‘āina is what owns the water.”
Cheryl Pukahi manages the farm’s wildfire mitigation program, an educational internship that clears the land, removing grass and invasives; restores native plants and maintains green firebreak areas.
Her introduction to Kaʻala was in 1996, she said, adding that after high school, she volunteered with her husband, whose brother was farm manager at the time. She grew up in Pahoa and later moved to the Leeward Coast to learn from Enos, among other kumu.
“I enjoy learning about the space, the mountain names – moʻolelo. Here at ʻOhana Gardens, the families are engaging with where food/kalo comes from. They are helping to make the environment (dry taro beds) ready to be planted,” Pukahi said.
Her goal this year is to continue to find “best practices to do our work.”
Aaron Panoke of Makaha started as Pili Nā Moku intern.
“I answered the call,” he said. “I wanted to strengthen my connection to culture and up here is the best place to do it – from rope and kapa making to language and weaving – for both locals and malihini. Come and learn ʻike.”
He says his favorite spot on the property is the main hale or in the lo‘i kalo.
“Work in our culture requires many hands, so seeing people come out and want to build pilina is great.
Kalei Tabag started as a summer intern in high school and now works in farm maintenance.
“I enjoy the work. Everything about it. I feel like it’s more of a kuleana and am blessed to take care of the space,” he said. “It’s nice teaching the keiki things that they can’t learn in school. I feel like everybody should learn this kind of stuff.
For him, a serene spot on the land is “a big pohaku (rock) to sit and meditate on.”
“This doesn’t feel like a job. This is Hawaiian Sovereignty I believe.”
Born and raised in Kalihi, Noalei-Rose Malacas will finish her six-month internship in February, with hopes of extending.
“I love that we are always about community first,” she said. “No matter what, we work to restore ʻāina. This is a refuge for the people.”
Malacas says her favorite place to find refuge is by the hale “because you can see everything mauka to makai.”
“It’s wonderful working with the team. I love how we’re here for the youth. Getting to know more about them and the land that we walk helps a lot. They really are our future.”
Her advice to keiki is: “Don’t be scared. These are the opportunities to help you grow. Be uncomfortable. Discern what is right and surround yourself with good people, who build you up, especially long-term. And it’s OK to say no.”
The book “From Then to Now: A Manual for Doing Things Hawaiian Style” by Ka‘ala Farm opens with: “Then and now, our kupuna are our most precious resource. The are gentle rain that fills our basket of life, who continue to shine the light on the dark and unknown, who open the door gently and make the way pono. They share their water so the loʻi can continue to live. We, the mākua, bring our skills and our aloha and add to the life-giving waters so the bowl never goes empty.”
For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up here for our free Daily Edition newsletter.
Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros can be reached at kelsey@alohastatedaily.com.
