Volunteer
Naue mai e nā hoa aloha ʻāina!
Hoʻoulu ʻĀina welcomes volunteers from keiki to kūpuna who may live in the Kalihi community or another part of the world. There are opportunities for individuals and groups to engage in mālama ʻāina practices such as organic reforestation, gardening, and cultural sharing. Below is a list of regularly scheduled volunteer opportunities that are open to the public and free events. Whether it is one of our scheduled community workdays or a group visit, everyone must fill out our digital sign-in and waiver forms prior to arriving at Hoʻoulu ʻĀina.
Safety Protocols
Hoʻoulu ʻĀina is dedicated to protecting the health and safety of our community and staff. If you have had a fever in the last 48 hours, experienced symptoms of illness/come into contact with someone who has been ill, or are feeling unwell prior to your visit, we kindly ask that you stay home and plan to visit us again another time.
Community Workdays
Ipu o Lono
The image of a calabash full of food is our ancestral image of abundance. Our kūpuna knew and celebrated the importance of food. Ipu-o-Lono workdays continue this ancestral celebration. Work with our Mahi ʻĀina staff in the garden to feed our community. Help and learn to care for space and soil - feeding, amending, and shaping garden beds as well as pulling weeds and feeding compost piles. We will also need help prepping the harvest to be delivered to our community, which entails washing, cleaning, and bagging vegetables. Expect to get dirty, sweaty, and wet - an essential part of creating abundance! Register below on our community workday registration.
*Every FRIDAY
9am - 12pm Hawaiʻi Standard Time
Coordinator: Mahi ʻĀina Staff
Number of Volunteers: 15
Lā Mauli Ola
Mauliola - literally "breath of life" - is our deity of health. Work with Hoʻoulu ʻĀina staff to pull weeds, take care of native forest and food plants, mālama pathways and trails. Help to heal the land - and know that the healing is reciprocal. Please wear boots and clothes you don't mind getting dirty. Also be prepared to use tools such as pick, shovel, ʻōʻō, machete (if you have your own, please bring!!).
Actual activities will vary week-to-week based on on-going projects. Kihe mauli ola! Register below on our community workday registration.
Every Wednesday
9am - 12pm Hawaiʻi Standard Time
Coordinator: Mahi ʻĀina, Koa ʻĀina, Lāʻau Kū Makani Staff
Number of Volunteers: 15
Hāna Kahe Wai Workdays
Come kaheāwai - flow like water - in our work together with Hoʻoulu ʻĀina staff to pull weeds, take care of native forest and food plants, and mālama streambeds, trails, and pathways. Hāna Kahe Wai workdays call attention to native reforestation and agroforestry to helo restore Kalihiʻs watershed and our communityʻs waiwai. Please wear boots and clothes you don't mind getting dirty, and be prepared to use tools such as pick, shovel, ʻōʻō, and machete (if you have your own, please bring!!). Register below on our community workday registration.
Every other Saturday
9am – 12pm Hawaiʻi Standard Time
Coordinator: Hoʻoulu ʻĀina Staff
Number of Volunteers: 10
“I just want to volunteer at places like this to learn.”
— Third Saturday community workday participant