Ahupuaʻa and the Konohiki
Each of the Hawaiian islands is divided into wedge-shape land divisions encompassing entire watersheds known as ahupuaʻa. The traditional and customary watershed management system is overseen by the headman of the ahupuaʻa, or konohiki. Based on their deep and hereditary knowledge of the natural resources of their ahupuaʻa, the konohiki are responsible for safeguarding the production and perpetuation of land and sea resources in their ahupuaʻa. These resource rights are viewed as belonging not to the current residents but to their children and thus the management of these resources carries with them the burden of protecting the lives and futures of the next generation. Among those rights and responsibilities entrusted to the konohiki are those regarding mineral rights, fishing, water, land distribution, agricultural use and maintenance.
Many generations of thoughtful stewardship of the land and sea by Native Hawaiians under the konohiki system of land management have resulted in continued pristine natural beauty and abundant resources in many places on Kauaʻi, but those very places that have been most carefully conserved have drawn a flood of buyers, driving land prices beyond the reach of the original residents and displacing many families. The land has been divided and subdivided and the traditional system of land management has been crippled by the fragmentation of the ahupuaʻa and the trampling of customary Konohiki Rights. The once highly productive agricultural infrastructure of irrigation canals and taro patches has been largely deconstructed, the stones often sold and the water diverted. The abundant fish ponds are overgrown and in disrepair. Ocean fish stocks are depleted. Many sacred sites have been desecrated and the bones of the Hawaiians' ancestors have been disturbed.
Being intrinsically connected, the life of the land, the flow of water, and the health of the people have all been interrupted by modern development and displacement. The Hawaiian people who once sustained themselves from the land have been largely removed from the land and have become marginalized socially and economically.
We propose to utilize the customary konohiki system of land management to restore the healthy functioning of ahupuaʻa in the districts of Haleleʻa, Koʻolau, Puna, Kona, Mana and Napali on the island of Kauaʻi. We will restore and preserve the Native Hawaiian agricultural system, the flow of water, and organic farming methods while promoting traditional Native Hawaiian foods and an abundance of Kauaʻi island grown food for the world.
Many generations of thoughtful stewardship of the land and sea by Native Hawaiians under the konohiki system of land management have resulted in continued pristine natural beauty and abundant resources in many places on Kauaʻi, but those very places that have been most carefully conserved have drawn a flood of buyers, driving land prices beyond the reach of the original residents and displacing many families. The land has been divided and subdivided and the traditional system of land management has been crippled by the fragmentation of the ahupuaʻa and the trampling of customary Konohiki Rights. The once highly productive agricultural infrastructure of irrigation canals and taro patches has been largely deconstructed, the stones often sold and the water diverted. The abundant fish ponds are overgrown and in disrepair. Ocean fish stocks are depleted. Many sacred sites have been desecrated and the bones of the Hawaiians' ancestors have been disturbed.
Being intrinsically connected, the life of the land, the flow of water, and the health of the people have all been interrupted by modern development and displacement. The Hawaiian people who once sustained themselves from the land have been largely removed from the land and have become marginalized socially and economically.
We propose to utilize the customary konohiki system of land management to restore the healthy functioning of ahupuaʻa in the districts of Haleleʻa, Koʻolau, Puna, Kona, Mana and Napali on the island of Kauaʻi. We will restore and preserve the Native Hawaiian agricultural system, the flow of water, and organic farming methods while promoting traditional Native Hawaiian foods and an abundance of Kauaʻi island grown food for the world.
The Ahupuaʻa of kauaʻi
