A group of junior leaders from the Papakōlea homestead on Oʻahu visited the Anahola homestead on Kauaʻi to discuss developing sustainable social enterprises, job creation, and community partnerships.
Anahola homestead is a Department of Hawaiian Home Lands community providing residential and agricultural land to native Hawaiians. It features ongoing development, including the Piʻilani Mai Ke Kai subdivision, new home key ceremonies, and plans for a regional recreational center.
Coordinated by the Kula No Nā Poʻe Hawaiʻi nonprofit, executives from the Homestead Community Development Corporation hosted the youth as they toured the Anahola Marketplace, the Anahola Café, the Anahola Thrift Store, and the Kumu Campground in the Anahola homestead in east Kauaʻi.
“The visiting youth were terrific homestead ambassadors,” said Garrett Danner, deputy director of HCDC. “It was great to share our work here on Kauaʻi. Implementing community-driven social enterprises are just one way our homestead takes responsibility for our trust lands by initiating job creation, land stewardship, and addressing community priorities.”
The Papakōlea Junior Leaders program serves youth residing in the Papakōlea, Kewalo, and Kalawahine homesteads. The program fosters confidence, mentorship, and community engagement through workshops, mentoring, and “Show & Teach” projects, helping youth explore leadership and career paths.
“Many of the project locations we toured with the youth were previous eyesores 20 years ago, but our partner, the Anahola Hawaiian Homestead Association, identified them as priorities to repurpose into meaningful programs,” Danner said. “It took a lot of work and partnering with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands over several administrations – the results have been great.”
The Homestead Community Development Corporation and Anahola Hawaiian Homestead Association are currently developing a rodeo arena and sporting complex as part of the “recreation economy,” intended to create additional jobs.
The Homestead Community Development Corporation was founded in 2009 by the Sovereign Council of Hawaiian Homestead Associations to advance solutions in affordable housing, economic development, and homestead community capacity building. It is governed by homestead leaders from across the state on every island.
