Second meeting announced for Moku ʻO Wailuku Ahupuaʻa Sign Project

On November 26th, over 35 residents participated in the first community meeting for the Moku ʻO Wailuku Ahupuaʻa Sign. Vernon Kalanikau is looking to gather additional information and to continue the conversation during the next meeting on January 6, 2020.

The second community meeting for the Moku ʻO Wailuku Ahupuaʻa Sign project will be held from 6 pm to 8 pm on Monday, January 6, 2020 at the J. Walter Cameron Center Auditorium located at 95 Mahalani Street in Wailuku. This is an opportunity for the public to provide feedback and to continue the conversation on the Wailuku ahupuaʻa. The meeting is hosted by the Maui Food Technology Center.

“We are extremely grateful to those who participated so far,” said project coordinator Vernon Kalanikau. “During these sessions, we gain invaluable information from the community on the Moku ʻO Wailuku, particularly the areas of Wailuku, Waikapu, Waiʻehu, Waiheʻe and Kahului. We’ll continue to seek the public’s manao on what they know about these ahupuaʻa, the traditional Hawaiian boundaries, and each area’s sense of place as this will determine where new  ahupuaʻa signs will be installed.”

 On the island of Maui, there are a total of 12 traditional land divisions or moku. Each moku was divided into ahupuaʻa, narrower wedge-shaped land sections that typically ran from the mountains to the sea. The Wailuku ahupua‘a is comprised of Wailuku and Kahului areas including near Spreckelsville and Maui Veterans Highway (formerly known as Mokulele Hwy).

The Moku ʻO Wailuku Ahupuaʻa Sign project is a cultural grants program funded by the County of Maui Office of Economic Development. It aims to bring awareness of Maui Nui’s ancient land division system.

 For more information, please contact Vernon at 808-385-0731 or email MFTC at info@mauifoodtechnology.org.