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DHHL Media Release: Draft EA Published for Proposed Youth Center and Agricultural Training Project

Posted on Aug 25, 2022 in Latest Department News, Newsroom

(Anahola, Kaua‘i) – The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) has published a draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for a proposed Youth Center and Agricultural Training site in Anahola Anahola, Kaua‘i.

In January 2019, Kūkulu Kumuhana O Anahola (KKOA) submitted a land use request to DHHL to develop the Ulupono Anahola Project, a youth center and agricultural training garden. The Hawaiian Homes Commission (HHC) granted KKOA a five-year license agreement for a 10-acre site in Anahola at its November 2021 regular meeting.

KKOA is a non-profit that deters youth suicide through traditional Hawaiian cultural practices, sustainable agricultural endeavors, and community and ‘ohana engagement. The proposed Ulupono Anahola Project would house a youth center, a traditional Hawaiian Hale Halawai, a Maori-inspired Marae, a kitchen and processing area, and a co-op space to prepare agricultural products from the site. The project envisions the cultivation of traditional foods and medicinal plants, including ʻōlena, ginger, kalo, and ‘ulu.

DHHL held a Beneficiary Consultation meeting on August 7, 2019, where the community voiced broad support for the project. KKOA received comments that were incorporated into the Draft EA and project design. The Beneficiary Consultation report was accepted unanimously by HHC on September 16, 2019.

KKOA presented its draft EA to HHC at its August 16, 2022 regular meeting and published the draft EA in The Environmental Notice periodical on August 23, 2022. A public comment period for the draft EA will conclude on September 23, 2022.

To learn more about the Ulupono Anahola Project and view the draft EA, visit dhhl.hawaii.gov/po/kauai.

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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]