A recent story on students working to restore the ecosystem in Niu Valley resonated with many of us in the nonprofit Kua‘aina Ulu ‘Auamo (KUA), whose mission is to support a number of grassroots community networks doing similar conservation work (“Hawaii students win awards for projects ranging from ‘hot’ composting to a fishpond cleanup,” Star-Advertiser, July 7). Congratulations to the students, and to their kumu for fostering ‘aina-based learning and ultimately, commitment and kuleana (responsibility) to their place. They also demonstrate an important holistic perspective by sharing that in order to restore the loko i‘a (fishpond), they also need to care for the watershed where the water originates.

We see a happy synchronicity in the fact that on the same day that this work was featured in the paper, dozens more community members were participating in restoration work at Ko‘ie‘ie and Pahonu fishponds in Kihei (Maui) and Waimanalo (Oahu), respectively. The following weekend saw community work projects on Hawaii island at Haleolono (Hilo) and ‘Aimakapa (Kona).

If folks sense that fishpond action is on the rise, they are right. More kia‘i loko — stewards/guardians of fishponds — are emerging leaders in their communities. There are more practitioners perpetuating the skills of kupuna. There are more students doing research. And there are more ‘ohana building relationships with each other, their communities and these places. Kua‘aina Ulu ‘Auamo (KUA) facilitates a statewide network of loko i‘a, called Hui Malama Loko I‘a, and we are proud of the progress that kia‘i loko are making every single day.

To everyone who takes on kuleana as a family member, volunteer, intern or employee at a project to malama ‘aina (care for land) — whether it be for loko i‘a, lo‘i (irrigated terrace for kalo), limu (seaweed), ko‘a (fishing grounds), or wahi kupuna (ancestral places) — know that you are not alone. Your community of peers is always growing. The love you feel for those places bonds you to the ‘aina and ultimately informs your understanding of the word ‘aina — that which feeds us all physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally.

Your sense of aloha ‘aina unites you with strangers on the street who may also carry that love for place in their own community, and you are connected to each other in your love for Hawaii and your active role in malama ‘aina. We should be proud that loko i‘a practice is still ongoing and actively adapting. The reactivation of aloha ‘aina will ensure that the food systems that fed our kupuna will be able to feed many generations into the future.

What grassroots networks are doing in Hawaii is part of what is happening globally. For example, the stone-constructed pools and channels of the Gunditjmara people in Australia are thought to be one of the oldest examples of aquaculture, first built 6,600 years ago. These sites, now on the UNESCO World Heritage list, are a testament to how humans can steward the environment to cultivate abundance and ensure thriving cultures.

The World Aquaculture Society gathering in Honolulu in February 2020 will connect us directly to indigenous aquaculture practitioners from around the world. KUA and the Hui Malama Loko I‘a plan to exchange ideas about how indigenous knowledge and the relationship of native peoples to the land can offer core aquaculture principles to improve contemporary “conventional” aquaculture practice and better prepare us for the future. We anticipate sharing what has been done and learned through the ongoing innovation at loko i‘a throughout Hawaii.

In a time of rising cynicism and dysfunctional leadership, the sharing of indigenous practices that have stood the test of time is helping to return us to the practices and values that have sustained practitioners and communities around the world. That is something to celebrate. Aloha ‘aina!

Brenda Asuncion works at the nonprofit Kuaʻaina Ulu ʻAuamo and coordinates the Hui Malama Loko Iʻa, a network of more than 45 loko iʻa across Hawaii.