Governor Josh Green, M.D.

(Kapolei, Oʻahu) – The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) has announced the awarding of 23 grants to 14 recipients who will each receive a portion of $8,500,000 of funding as part of the Development Grants Program of DHHL’s Native Hawaiian Development Program Plan (NHDPP).

In this round of grants, DHHL solicited proposals for improvements to existing facilities on Hawaiian Home Lands, existing programs and services in existing homesteads, project implementation, and community capacity building

Informational meetings were held in August 2022 with the final grant application deadline on October 6, 2022. A total of 32 applications were received.

The purpose of the NHDPP is to improve the general welfare and conditions of native Hawaiians through education, economic, political, social, cultural, and other programs. The NHDPP enables the Department to implement individual and community development programs and services.

For the Fiscal Year 2023, the Hawaiʻi State Legislature allocated $10 million in State General Funds to the NHDPP, of which $7.5 million was designated by the Hawaiian Homes Commission (HHC) to the Community Development Grants Program. The other $2.5 million was set aside for repair and maintenance projects on Hawaiian Home Lands.

In addition to the Legislature funding, HHC approved a $1 million allocation from the Native Hawaiian Rehabilitation Fund (NHRF) at its June 2022 regular meeting as an additional funding source for the 2022 DHHL Community Development Grants program.

Selected grant proposals, award recipients, and project summaries can be viewed below.

Grant for improvements to existing facilities on Hawaiian Home Lands:

• $1,000,000 – Ka Waihona O Ka Na‘auao, Public Charter School for renovations to the school kitchen and cafeteria. The facility is located makai of the Nanakuli homestead, on Hawaiian Home Lands, and was built in 1933.
• $1,000,000 – Moloka‘i Homestead Farmers Alliance, dba Moloka‘i Homestead Farmers Alliance, for improvements to Lanikeha Center, built in 2000. Funds will be used to continue renovations, including restroom and sewer improvements. The is an existing facility located in Ho‘olehua on Hawaiian Home Lands.
• $1,000,000 – Princess Kahanu Estates Association, dba Princess Kahanu Estates Association (PKE), for improvements to the community center and boat yard, built-in 1995. Funds will be used for the planning, design, and construction of a certified kitchen located on a portion of the boat yard. This is an existing facility located within the PKE homestead, on Hawaiian Home Lands.
• $1,000,000 – Waiohuli Hawaiian Homesteaders Association, Inc., dba Waiohuli Hawaiian Homestead Association, Inc. (WHHA) for improvements to the WHHA community center – He Piko No Waiohuli, built-in 2016. Funds will be used to construct an enclosed improvement for the existing community kitchen and for safety lighting in parking areas. This is an existing facility located in the Waiohuli homestead, on Hawaiian Home Lands.
• $980,000 – Nanakuli Hawaiian Homestead Community Association, dba Nanakuli Hawaiian Homestead Community Association, for improvements to the Nānākuli Village Center, built in 2019. Funds will be used for the interior build-out of three units in the inline retail space to encourage local and Native Hawaiian-owned businesses to lease. This is an existing facility located on Hawaiian Home Lands.
• $400,000 – Kalamaula Homesteaders Association, dba Kalamaula Homesteaders Association, for improvements to Kiowea Park, built in the 1990s. The proposed project is to address community safety concerns. Funds will be used for improvements to the parking lot to increase safety and accessibility for all those who use the park, especially Kupuna and those physically challenged. This is an existing facility located on Hawaiian Home Lands.

Grant for existing programs and services in existing Homesteads:

• $500,000 – Habitat for Humanity International, dba Habitat for Humanity Maui, Inc. to expand and support its 20-year-old home repair program to specifically serve lessees. Funds will be used for home safety repairs for economically-disadvantaged lessees in the County of Maui – islands of Maui, Lāna‘i, and Moloka‘i.
• $500,000 – Ke Kula Nui ‘o Waimānalo, dba Ke Kula Nui O Waimanalo (KKNOW) to expand and support its 13-year-old Mini Ahupua‘a for Lifestyle and Mea‘ai through Aquaponics (MALAMA) program. Funds will be used to expand MALAMA to lessees in Kona and the island of Moloka‘i in response to requests from those homestead areas. Funds will also be used to support lessees to maintain their existing aquaponics systems in Waimānalo, Maui, and East Hawai‘i homesteads. As part of MALAMA, KKNOW will continue to build homestead capacity to become trainers and local resources within their own homesteads.
• $447,344 – Kula No Na Po‘e Hawai‘i to expand and support its two-year-old Ho‘okele Program to lessees in the Papakōlea region. Funds will be used to support 60 beneficiaries with housing placement, conduct 15 workshops and assist lessees to complete applications for additional wrap-around services and programs.
• $400,000 – Moloka‘i Homestead Farmers Alliance, dba Moloka‘i Homestead Farmers Alliance to support its four-year-old COVID Relief program. Funds will be used to distribute food, produce, hot meals, home care packages, and certificates for drugstore/prescription purchases for lessees island-wide.
• $331,100 – Aina Alliance for its Makai Management project. Started in 2021, the project is for land restoration and community enrichment through aina-based learning and perpetuating cultural principles in the Anahola homestead. Funds will be used to support ongoing efforts to clear and maintain over 400 acres of Hawaiian Home Lands to address concerns of homelessness, trash dumping, and fire hazards. This effort also will serve as a safe, outdoor community learning environment.
• $170,000 – Waiohuli Hawaiian Homesteaders Association, Inc., dba Waiohuli Hawaiian Homesteaders Association, Inc. for its five-year-old Waiohuli Economic Development Opportunities Program (WE-DO). This is a training and mentoring program for lessees in Waiohuli and Kēōkea homesteads to build capacity related to general construction and supportive services during the development process of a master-planned community.

Grant for Project Implementation:

• $100,000 – Ho‘opili Farmers Association for a mulching program to assist lessees with gardening and farming. The program includes training lessees in using mulch and inputs using Korean natural farming techniques and providing a delivery service to lessees who do not have access to mulch. HFA intends to use a peer-to-peer method, where beneficiaries are conducting the training for fellow beneficiaries. Proposed program delivery areas are Ho‘olehua, Kalamaula, Kamiloloa, One Alii, and Kapaakea homesteads.
• $100,000 – Kalamaula Homesteaders Association, dba Kalamaula Homesteaders Association to address safety concerns within Kalamaula homestead. Secondly, funds will be used to purchase batteries for the photo-voltaic power system for the new Kiowea Park Pavilion.
• $100,000 – Kanehili Community Association, dba c/o Hawaiiana Management Co., Ltd. for the Kapolei Regional Plan Project: Preserve and Develop Parks to Service the Homestead Community. Funds will be used to continue the planning phase and start the design of the Kānehili park (Phase 2). The park is intended to serve beneficiaries and the general public.
• $100,000 – Ka ‘Ohana O Kahikinui, Inc. (KOOK) for the Kahikinui Regional Plan Project: Pūnāwai Project and Water Infrastructure Improvements. The proposed project is an innovative fog drip water collection and distribution system to supply non-potable water for lessees in Kahikinui homestead. Funds will be used for protective fencing for the system and to supplement a current DHHL grant to KOOK for project cost overruns.
• $100,000 – ‘O Maku‘u Ke Kahua Community Center, dba Maku‘u Farmers Market for planning and construction of a new community center located in the Maku‘u homestead. Funds will be used for updating plans, obtaining permits, and starting construction.
• $100,000 – Princess Kahanu Estates Association, dba Princess Kahanu Estates Association to establish a community-based landscaping service to maintain homestead common areas.
• $100,000 – Waiohuli Hawaiian Homesteaders Association, Inc., dba Waiohuli Hawaiian Homesteaders Association, Inc. (WHHA) to complete planning and due diligence (HRS Chapter 343 Environmental and 6E compliance) for approximately 150 acres of Hawaiian Home Lands. WHHA intends to use the land to serve as the site to implement the Waioihuli Economic Development Opportunities (WE DO) program.

Grant for Community Capacity Building:

• $15,000 – Ho‘opili Farmers Association for board training, membership outreach, strategic planning, and completing a business plan.
• $15,000 – ‘O Maku‘u Ke Kahua Community Center, dba Maku‘u Farmers Market for strategic planning, developing collateral materials for future grant writing, and developing a grants management system.
• $15,000 – Princess Kahanu Estates Association, dba Princess Kahanu Estates Association (PKEA), for membership outreach and to perpetuate cultural practices. Funds will be used to expand PKEA’s Kanikapila sessions by adding ukulele classes and a Hula Halau for keiki.
• $15,000 – Waiohuli Hawaiian Homesteaders Association, Inc., dba Waiohuli Hawaiian Homesteaders Association, Inc. to secure technical assistance for board governance, leadership succession, program development, marketing, and community outreach.

###

About the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands:

The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands carries out Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole’s vision of rehabilitating native Hawaiians by returning them to the land. Established by U.S. Congress in 1921, with the passage of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, the Hawaiian homesteading program run by DHHL includes management of over 200,000 acres of land statewide with the specific purpose of developing and delivering homesteading.

Media Contact:

Cedric Duarte

Information and Community Relations Officer
Department of Hawaiian Home Lands
(808) 620-9591

[email protected]