$1.5M grant supports Indigenous students, develops food systems

VIDEO NEWS RELEASE

UH West Oʻahu Sustainable Community Food Systems

UH Mānoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources

UH Mānoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources

UH Mānoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources

Leeward CC

Leeward CC

Link to video and sound (details below): https://go.hawaii.edu/xua

Four University of Hawaiʻi campuses have been awarded a $1.5-million grant for the Huaka‘i ‘Ike ‘Āina (HI‘A) Project to strengthen Native Hawaiian-serving institutions through advancing food and agricultural sciences. 

The HI‘A Project aims to address systemic challenges that students face, from financial obstacles to cultural and institutional barriers. Through direct financial support, including scholarships and travel opportunities, the program seeks to empower these students to become future leaders in Hawaiʻi's food systems. By providing opportunities for huakaʻi (educational journeys) and experiential ʻāina-based learning, the initiative aims to provide education grounded in cultural relevance and place-based knowledge. 

The Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian (ANNH) grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture was awarded to UH West Oʻahu, Leeward Community College, the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) at UH Mānoa and Hawaiʻi Community College.

Fostering collaboration, partnerships

The multi-institutional effort will focus on providing direct financial support to allow underrepresented students to focus on their education without financial strain; conducting experiential learning through ʻāina-based learning activities and cross-campus huaka’i (travel); integrating Indigenous and traditional ecological knowledge into food systems education; demystifying the path to graduate school through mentoring and targeted support; and fostering cross-campus collaboration and course articulations.

HIʻA will also foster partnerships with community-based organizations actively involved in food-system education, including: MA‘O Organic Farms, Ho‘okua‘āina, Kōkua Learning Farm, Hawaii Banana Source, Kualoa Grown, Kako‘o ‘Ōiwi, Waipā, and Hawai‘i ‘Ulu Coop.

“We're creating a community supported view, vision and future for Hawaiʻi's food systems,” said Matthew Kekoa Lau, project lead and an assistant professor at UH West Oʻahu.

Building educational pathways ‘auwai

Aligned with the mission of UH as a Native Hawaiian place of learning, the HI‘A Project will enable the formation of a multi-institutional coalition dedicated to the development of an educational ‘auwai—a collaborative pathway that nurtures and supports students throughout their academic and leadership journeys. 

The coalition includes key faculty members from across the UH system:

UH West Oʻahu-Lau and Co-PI Albie Miles 

Leeward CC-Co-PI Daniela Elliott

UH Mānoa CTAHR-Co-PI Noa Kekuewa Lincoln 

Hawaiʻi CC-Co-PI Lew Nakamura 

By building an educational ‘auwai, the program will ensure that the pathways to higher education, leadership and sustainable food system innovation are open and accessible to Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander and Alaskan Native students. This effort is supported by the recently launched Ke Ō Mau Center for Sustainable Island Food Systems, a research, education, planning and policy hub focused on improving the local food system in Hawaiʻi.

VIDEO:
BROLL: trt 1:32

SOT :00-:05 chopping down banana tree at Hawaiʻi CC Mauliola farm

:06-:45 other shots in Hawaiʻi CC Mauliola farm

:46-1:04 Leeward CC garden

1:05-1:30 UH West Oʻahu Sustainable Community Food Systems 

SOUND:

Matthew Kekoa Lau, UH West Oʻahu Assistant Professor (:21)

“Agricultural transformation is going to look different depending on where you are in Hawaiʻi. We're creating a community supported view and vision and future for Hawaiʻi's food systems.”

Lau (:14)

“And the future also just looks like a more sustainable future where we're not relying so much on imported foods—that we're producing more of our food here and in ways that are better for us as a whole as a society."