September 12, 2025, 3:00 AM HST
Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority (HTA) has provided nearly $1 million in funding to organizations working to support and strengthen Native Hawaiian culture through tourism as part of its Kūkulu Ola program.
The Kūkulu Ola program supports organizations that perpetuate Hawaiian cultural practices, provide educational programming, preserve cultural sites, and build community pride.
“The Kūkulu Ola program enables us to invest directly in the people and organizations who are keeping Hawaiʻi’s culture thriving,” said Caroline Anderson, interim president and CEO of HTA. “These efforts enrich the lives of Hawaiʻi’s residents while giving visitors an opportunity to connect more deeply with our island home.”
Through the program, which is administered in partnership with Kilohana, $928,000 in funding was awarded to 26 community-based organizations committed to providing genuine experiences for residents and visitors statewide.
Many of the funded programs offer intergenerational learning opportunities, mentor emerging cultural leaders, and present authentic experiences that are accessible to both residents and visitors.
Four programs on Hawaiʻi Island are being supported through the Kūkulu Ola program, including:
- E ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi Kākou – An introductory Hawaiian language program offering immersive, in-person monthly two-hour sessions at hotels and community centers, integrating ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi instruction with hands-on activities, storytelling and chant/song to foster responsible tourism and deeper connections to Hawaiʻi.
- Organized by the EA Foundation
- Holomua Imu Mea ʻAi – Cultural food program focused on the traditional Hawaiian imu. Through monthly community events, it fosters cultural stewardship, healing and reintegration for kāne.
- Organized by Men of Paʻa
- Hula Arts at Kīlauea – Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, feature free monthly hula performances, weekly cultural classes, bimonthly talk story sessions and a May Day celebration from Juoy 2025 to June 2026.
- Organized by Volcano Arts Center
- The Puakalehua Project – Offers monthly cultural workshops in Waipiʻo Valley and Mahiki rimlands focusing on chant, hula, song and area-specific history, educating residents and visitors on cultural significance and environmental threats like invasive species and Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death.
- Organized by Pōhāhā I Ka Lani
Two programs located on Hawaiʻi Island and Oʻahu were also supported:
- Moʻolelo Matters Speaker Series Screenings 2025–26 – Four free film screenings on Oʻahu, Kauaʻi and Hawaiʻi Island, featuring the “ʻAi: Responsibilities and Privileges of Eating” series. The project explores the cultural, spiritual and environmental roles of food in Hawaiʻi, engaging residents and visitors through storytelling and discussion.
- Organized by Aloha Kuamoʻo ʻĀina
- Kaulele “Hoʻonui ʻIke” (Expanding Knowledge) – Provides culturally grounded STEM learning for Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander youth through mobile exhibits on kapa, kaulana mahina and loko i’a on display on Oʻahu and Hawaiʻi Island.
- Organized by the Institute for Native Pacific Education and Culture
Two statewide programs supported by the Kūkulu Ola program, which includes:
- Kani a Ola: Economic Resilience for Mele Practitioners – Supports the financial sustainability of Kānaka ʻŌiwi mele practitioners by increasing earning potential, offering royalty training and creating paid performance opportunities, free public performances and workshops in resort areas, thus preserving mele as a cultural and economic resource for both residents and visitors.
- Organized by Kāhuli Leo Leʻa
- Queen Liliʻuokalani Keiki Hula Festival – Honors Hawaiʻi’s last monarch and perpetuates Hawaiian culture through the hula that features 25 hālau from Hawaiʻi and Japan competing in three categories.
- Organized by Kalihi-Pālama Culture and Arts Society