ABOUT ALOHA MĀKENA
Aloha, the sacredness of reciprocity, is the guiding principle of Mākena's Community Engagement. Itʻs all about love of Makena's natural cycles, becoming familiar with them, learning how to be in deeper relationship with them, until one day they become your family. This is the continuum of aloha in Makena, learning to live in reciprocity with Makenaʻs ecosystem towards mutual wellbeing and mutual vitality.
In collaboration with Mākena's ʻŌiwi Resources & Stewardship Team, our talented, knowledgable teams work in tandem towards amplifying aloha for all the families in this ecosystem: from the familial elementals like Kane, the heat of Grandfather Sun, and Hina, the tidal pull of Grandmother Moon; to all the endemic and native floral and faunal families; for the long-time and ever-present genealogical descendants of the area; and for the new families who will call Makena home. Aloha is the invitation to deeper relationship with this place so that together we contribute to regeneration and well-being for all of Makena's families.
OUR FOCUS
Aloha Mākena is about intentional reciprocation with community so we can belong to this precious place together. We engage the community through a variety of avenues to address the following critical areas:
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Primary Needs: Health Care, Food Security, and Affordable Housing
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Social Determinants of Health: Land & Cultural Resource Conservation & Stewardship, Protection of Native Flora & Fauna, and Education
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Proximity: We focus on those closest to us and support those whose efforts impact community in Makena first, then Honuaʻula, South Maui, and finally greater Maui Nui.
Community Events
Events that are Good for the Place and Good for Maui
We believe in hosting community events that nurture both the spirit of this place and our community collaborators. Throughout the year, Mākena hosts fundraiser events and other programs to benefit community partners providing essential services to our island.
This includes hosting annual golf tournaments for organizations focused on affordable housing, natural and cultural resource stewardship, health care, our neighboring Keawalaʻi Church, and the Maui Interscholastic League golf championship event.
Holo 'Ai
25,000 lbs of Food Donated
Holo ʻAi is a community foodsharing program that supports our food-insecure areas in community. Started by Maui Nui Venison in response to the instability of the COVID-19 outbreak and further reinforced following the devastating Maui wild fires in August of 2023, Holo ʻAi has donated nearly 150,000 lbs (and counting) of nutrient dense venison to community. As of May 2024, Mākena has contributed over 25,000 lbs of food to the Holo ʻAi program.
Aloha Mākena Foundation
Amplifying Aloha in Makena, Investing in Collective Well-Being
Aloha Mākena is our 501 (c)(3) organization. At its very core, our purpose is to support the continuum of aloha, of reciprocation, in Makena. The foundation helps ensure continued support of community events in place, as well as continued investment in Makena's next generation through training programs like Kīpaipai and the Aloha Makena Endowed Scholarship for University of Hawaiʻi students (learn more here).
Join us in taking action towards a mutually beneficial system, towards homeostasis, towards deep love of place, towards more aloha in Makena!
Kīpaipai
Community Archaeology Program
In a unique partnership with ʻĀina Archaeology, led by Makena Native Tanya Lee-Greig, our Aloha Mākena and ʻŌiwi Resources & Stewardship teams have been working together to empower trained care of our precious archaeological and cultural resources.
Beginning right here in Makena, within Honuaʻula moku, Kīpaipai empowers and supports descendants with lineal and genealogical ties to this place to tell its stories and to care for preserved archaeological sites from Palauea to ʻĀhihi and from ʻUlupalakua to Kahoʻolawe.
PROUD TO SUPPORT & COLLABORATE WITH
