The Kipahulu ‘Ohana is a grassroots Hawaiian 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1995 dedicated to the cultural sustainability of the Kipahulu moku in East Maui, Hawai‘i through educational programs which incorporate local, national and international partnerships and projects. We envision families working in harmony together to preserve and enhance the traditional cultural practices of the Hawaiian people. To this end, we conduct culturally-based agricultural and resource management projects from mauka to makai.

We operate Kapahu Living Farm, a traditional Hawaiian wetland taro farm located in Haleakala National Park and managed through a partnership agreement with the park service, where we host educational programs for schools and community groups and distribute poi and other products to the local community. We also host cultural interpretive hike tours to the farm for visitors.

We operate Kipahulu Kitchen at Kalena Center, a shared-use certified commercial kitchen where we process our own products as well as renting the facility to value-added processors and lunch wagon vendors.

Through our Malama I Ke Kai program, we conduct community shoreline management projects including an ‘opihi “rest area” no-take zone adjacent to Haleakala National Park, and we have submitted an application to the state for Kipahulu Moku to be designated as a Community-Based Subsistence Fishing Area (CBSFA).

We also manage the “9-acres,” a state leased parcel with fruit orchard and cattle pasture; we conduct feral animal control fencing and invasive plant removal in the Kipahulu forest; and we conduct and support many other programs through various partnerships.