Providing luas is protecting Kīholo and keeping our community safe.

THANKS TO MANY GENEROUS DONORS, HUI IS NOW ABLE TO COVER THE SANITATION COSTS FOR ONE YEAR AND STATE PARKS HAS OPENED THE GATES.Due to impacts of the COVID-19 global pandemic, Hawai`i State Parks has incurred significant losses of revenue and funding sources resulting in an inability to fund portable toilets at Kīholo.

Thank you to the many donors who have given to protect Kīholo and the health of our community:
(listed alphabetical by last name)

Anonymous, Jacob Amelotte, Adam Atwood, Susan Baseley, Dannielle Bean, Bobby Camara, Joan & Randy Campell, Janette Chiron, La'i Mitchell Chong, Michael Dodge, Takayo Dring, Daniel Falvey, Myrna Fant, Patricia Flanagan, Judith Folk, Marisa Fronda, Christian Giardina, Rick Gmirkin & Nancy Erger, Nelson Hairston, Melia Hao, Malia Heimuli, Robert Henderson, Eddie & Belinda Herd, Johan Heurlin, Mark Jackson, Barbara Jensen-Haight, Ku'ulei Keakealani, Sarah Killion, Arne Lamberg, MaryAnne Maigret, Sean Marrs, Joan Maute, Harry & Sandy McDonald, Ed & Priscilla McLaughlin, Kimberly Metta, Judy Migliori, Billy & Jenny Mitchell, Kamanawa Mitchell, Rebecca Most, Ellen Mount, Lakme Nishie, Frances O`Reilly, Valdeane Odachi, Mike & Paola Pagan, Nyree Parisi, Robert Peeks, Evan & Ann Porteus, Sunita Przewlocki, Katherine Purdy, Darrell & Loretta Robertson, Ric Rocker, Kit & Wendi Roehrig, Dan & Allison Rose, Sharon Roy, Mike & Alexandra Sammon, Barbara Schaefer, Rachel Shackelford, Michelle Suber, Jim & Cindy Waddington, Gail Wechsler, Jeannette Young, Carol Zakahi

MAHALO NUI

We did it! Mahalo nui loa iā kākou pākahi a pau. Thanks to each and every person who contributed, we have reached the For the Love of Luaʻs $30,000 fundraising goal! Our combined aloha for Kīholo has led to the ability to provide luas and keep our community safe. A special mahalo to Mike and Alexandra Sammon, whoʻs $15,000 matching donation set the stage for our collective success. This is truly an example of the power in collective community stewardship, where we take on the kuleana, responsibility, to care for our special places. What an amazing community you are.

NEXT STEPS

Hui has contracted six lua within the park to be maintained weekly, and is actively working with the lua provider to install hand sanitizer dispensers. We expect the dispensers will be available in the next few weeks, and they will be maintained weekly with the luas. Hui staff has begun sanitizing lua door handles daily, but we still request your help in bringing and regularly utilizing your own personal hand sanitizer, as running water is not available at Kīholo. We also ask that you maintain vigilance in your social distancing while enjoying Kīholo, so that we continue to protect each other and our community from COVID-19.

WHAT HAPPENED?

On March 13, State Parks locked gates and luas (portable toilets). Starting in June, hiking and ocean access was allowed by foot, but State Parks cannot provide funding for luas, so kept gates locked. With nowhere for visitors to use the restroom, we saw excrement and toilet paper behind trees and in the pahoehoe lava flow. Hui ordered an emergency lua as a stop gap measure, believing proper sanitation measures will reopen with the gates.

Thanks to public support, Hui Aloha Kīholo was able to fundraise to cover the cost of portable toilets and sanitation for one year. On Monday, June, 29th, State Parks opened the gates to visitors. Open hours are 7am to 7pm everyday.

state parks incurS significant losses

Hawaii State Parks incurred significant losses of revenue and funding sources due to the closure of visitor-funded parks, due to COVID-19, resulting in an inability to fund luas and dumpsters at some of our parks. Unfortunately, Kīholo is one of those parks. State Parks does not expect to have the funds to pay for waste management at Kīholo until sometime in 2021, thus we think it is only prudent to take over both of the waste management contracts and commit to one year of service. For more from State Parks please click here.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

Hui Aloha Kīholo stands committed to the health and safety of our community and Kīholo. Our Hoa ʻĀina team continues to be on the ground at Kīholo seven days a week. In collaboration with our partners, these Hoa ʻĀina, or “friends of the land” monitor and protect natural and cultural resources and educate visitors to the reserve. We were saddened by increasing reports of human excrement being found at Kīholo, with luas being locked. We feared for the health of the land, the water, and the people of Kīholo. Without a waste management system in place, one of the last untouched natural gems of the Kona coast was at dire risk.

WHAT WILL THE $30,000 BE USED FOR?

Waste management and sanitation costs for one year at Kīholo are estimated to cost $30,000. State Parks does not expect to have the funds to pay for waste management at Kīholo until sometime in 2021, thus we think it is prudent only to take over these financial responsibilities and commit to one year of service. Here’s what the estimated costs are:

COSTS:

• Luas (three portable toilets with weekly maintenance) - $15,000

• Trash management (one dumpster and multiple trash cans throughout reserve) - $7,000

• Increased sanitation (regular sanitation of lua door handles by Hui staff) - $5,000

• Sanitation Supplies (hand sanitizer in the luas and supplies for Hui staff)- $2,500

What is HUI ALOHA Kīholo’s relationship to state parks?

Kīholo State Park Reserve is jointly managed by the Division of State Parks and Hui Aloha Kīholo as part of a curatorship agreement. Under this agreement, Hui acts as a steward of Kīholo by partnering with stakeholders to provide on-the-ground presence, maintenance, camping facilitation, community engagement and education, as well as natural and cultural resources protection. Hui Aloha Kīholo receives no funding from the State of Hawaiʻi for services provided at Kīholo. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, all of Hui Aloha Kīholo’s funding comes from private donations, fundraising activities, and grants.

WHY GIVE?

For over a decade Hui Aloha Kīholo has protected and enhanced the cultural and natural landscape of the Kīholo Bay area through collaborative management and active community stewardship. We were started by a hui of people who love Kīholo and saw her being destroyed by mismanagement. In 2007, Hui responded to the kāhea (call) put forth by Kīholo with the intention to reconnect community in ways which support healthy interaction with place.

Our vision is to see Kīholo Bay perpetuated as a culturally and environmentally thriving part of the ahupua‘a system of Pu‘uwa‘awa‘a. Through partnerships, a commitment to the values set forth by the hui, and the creation of a cultural and wilderness park at Kīholo Bay, we will achieve proper management of the area.

MAHALO

As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, donations to Hui Aloha Kīholo are tax deductible as allowed by law. If you have any questions about donating, please contact us.

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