Hidden in He’eia is a piece of ancient Hawaii that’s on the path to being restored. The 88-acre He’eia fishpond is estimated to be about 800 years old and built by the early Hawaiians to feed the Kaneohe ahupua’a, which is a subdivision of land that runs from the mountains to the sea.

The He’eia fishpond was built on a fringing reef stretching 1.3 miles in a full circle, unlike other fishponds that were built in a semicircle.

On May 2, 1965, a large flood came through He’eia and destroyed about 200 feet of the fishpond wall, which is built entirely out of rock and coral. For more than two decades the pond was inoperable.

"We want to see this fishpond restored, not just for kicks, we want to see the fishpond restored so that it can serve its purpose to provide food for our community," said Hi’ilei Kawelo, executive director at Paepae o He’eia. "And we’ve been at it for 15 years so we’re close, we’re so close we can taste it."

Since its inception in 2001, Paepae o He’eia has strived "to implement the values and concepts from the model of a traditional fishpond to provide physical, spiritual and intellectual sustenance for our community," Kawelo said. Although the organization is still working to provide physical nourishment, meaning fish to feed the community, it is focused on intellectual and spiritual sustenance, as well.

"Everybody that comes here to volunteer and to work at the fishpond, there’s no doubt that they leave, one, more educated about Hawaii in general and then about the ingenuity of our ancestors. And then, two, in the contribution of work — giving a little blood, sweat and tears back to the aina, to this place we call home," Kawelo said. "You definitely leave feeling good and fulfilled and spiritually grounded."

Paepae o He’eia works primarily to restore the He’eia fishpond and educate the public about the uniqueness of fishponds and the ingenuity of Hawaiian ancestors.

Within a month or two Kawelo hopes to finish restoration on the large hole in the fishpond wall damaged by the flood in 1965.

"We’re far enough along in restoration such that the wall is intact and fish can’t get out, which is a good thing, but we still have a bunch of restoration work to do upstream and on our mauka portion of our fishpond wall," Kawelo said. "We hope that in the next couple years we’ll have fish to feed our community."

Kawelo started volunteering at the He’eia fishpond in 1999 as part of a Hawaiian studies course at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and never left. She helped start Paepae o He’eia because she wanted to see her community benefit from the work.

"This is my community … I grew up two miles down the road," Kawelo said. "I want everybody to understand that it isn’t just for the select few — or the people that want to come and get dirty — that really this is what we should all be doing as residents of Hawaii and it starts with our own ohana so that’s why I’m here and that’s why I’ll never leave. The work that I do here, even though this is my paying job, is really just an extension of my life and the teachings of my ohana."

With the work progressing at a reasonable pace, Kawelo is optimistic that she will see the fishpond fully restored in a few years.

"It’s actually really simple, that’s what I appreciate about this work — it’s hard work but the purpose of this place and what we’re trying to do is actually really simple and there’s a lot of beauty in the simplicity of it," Kawelo said.

Paepae o He’eia holds community workdays every second and fourth Saturday of the month that are open to anyone willing to help. The work varies seasonally, from removing invasive mangrove or algae to moving material out onto the fishpond wall.

During the summer when the pond has an ample supply of predatory fish, Paepae o He’eia holds la holoholo fishing days where they allow a handful of people to fish inside the pond to help eradicate predator fish like the barracuda, papio, toau and tilapia in order to make room for the herbivorous fish that they strive to cultivate.

"When you have a large number of people coming together, it’s amazing the work that can get accomplished," Kawelo said.

Paepae o He’eia also provides opportunities for the public to come and learn about Hawaiian history by holding "talk story" sessions with guest speakers or hands-on workshops by fishpond practitioners and other artisans or craftsmen.

The largest challenge Paepae o He’eia faces is funding. They apply for grants but to maintain a staff of 10 full-time individuals and six summer interns is a challenge.

Kawelo said that people pose a problem to the fishpond as well, "more importantly the education of people that call Hawaii home." On most days Paepae o He’eia hosts school groups twice a day — many from elementary to intermediate school, but even some preschools. During visits they teach students that there are places like this in the community, stressing that hard work, contribution and "malama aina" — or to take care of the land — are important values in life.

"We need more educated people out there," Kawelo said. "We need more people that really appreciate calling this place home and act accordingly. And what that means is that we all need to get out there and contribute. It’s a hard job but there’s so many opportunities in the community now for people to go out and learn about what’s in their backyard."

For information on events or to schedule a visit, Kawelo recommends checking the calendar on their website and reserving a spot online.