"A Malanai is the wind of this place; call the wa‘a ashore." When the Hikianalia arrived in Kailua with a Kailua captain (Kaleo Wong) and many of Kailuaʻs ‘ōiwi on deck, she was greeted by a "village" that included the canoe clubs of Kailua, the hālau hula of Kailua, and the civic club of Kailua. Her crew was honored with oratory and mele of Kailua, and then it was fed with food prepared by Hale Ke Aloha, the Hawaiian restaurant of Kailua. This, in short, was not the infamous Cry-Lua of popular dis-acclaim. No. It was something entirely different. It was Kailua i ke oho o ka Malanai, and we are its people. -- Kihei de Silva

[E kala mai –  video no longer available]

"Today's action." – Kaleo Wong with Kalama‘ehu Takahashi. Mango trees definitely have their place at Kukanono, but not next to the lo‘i on the fringe of the marsh where they block out the sun, suck up all the spring water, and mess up the ‘auwai. This one will be cut into blanks for a future Hika'alani project: the making of papa ku‘i ‘ai. 

"Here are a few from working with NALU Studies in the rain and all this morning. 1st and 2nd ki‘i are before and after. The [Nalu] teachers are doing awesome work in and around Kawainui and I am looking forward to partnering with them a lot more in the future." – Kaleo Wong

According to workday co-cordinator Kaleo Wong, "About 45 people showed up today from UH, KCC, and Chaminade to learn about and help restore our wahi pana. The wall below the heiau on the Kawainui side was reclaimed, as well as a new patch of ‘āina opened to plant kalo. The pictures are not attached in the best order, but show a before and after at the two main areas we worked."

The Kailua Hawaiian Civic Club and 'Ahahui Mālama i ka Lōkahi – with assistance from Hika‘alani – host a community workday at Ulupō on the second Saturday of every month from 8:30 to Noon. If youʻre interest in helping out and donʻt mind getting a leeetle bit dirty, weʻll be happy to include you. 

​-- Kihei de Silva

Aloha mai, 
Here are a couple of ki‘i from today [with a group from KUPU]. Rain and all we still workum. Top ki‘i, new ground we cleared, pu‘epu‘e made, and huli planted. Bottom ki‘i, the area where the girls are standing was all hau and African tulip last week. We did most of the cutting last week and removed the cut branches today revealing the terraces that lay just beneath the surface. Still more clearing to do before we can plant it. And yes, that is a refrigerator on the right. On the left is the other half of the crew clearing the weeds and making the pu‘epu‘e that is shown in the first ki‘i.
Ke aloha,
Kaleo Wong

Aloha hou,
Here is a couple from today. Most of the [Castle HS] boys didnt want to go in lo‘i, they would rather dig with picks and shovels to plant uala puʻepuʻe style (what they are doing in the second ki‘i). The two boys in the lo‘i said they wanted to go in there after everyone else said they didnt want to. This was huge. It would have been much easier to just follow the other boys and not want to go in lo‘i. [One boy], like the rest of them, has a rough past and present. He has been in and out of jail since he was 12, even shipped to a juvenile home in America. This was his first time participating in class, not just with me, ever. He loved it. While we were in the loʻi I told them about ‘anakē ‘Ala (whom they have never heard of) and how the kalo was for her ho‘olewa. At the end of the day, after all the huli was cut and the kalo cleaned, I told them to take kalo, they said "nah uncle, thats for aunty ‘Ala". Small gains. Slow and steady. Still got hope for their future yet. Nānā ‘oe i ka ‘āina, nānā ka ‘āina iā ‘oe. 
Ke aloha,
Kaleo Wong