The kapa heritage tourism project, led by hiohia over 12 months with a budget of $199,999, addresses the critical economic barriers facing native hawaiian kapa (bark cloth) practitioners, who…

Kapa Heritage Tourism Project Grant Summary

The Department of the Interior's Office of Native Hawaiian Relations awarded $199,999 to Hi'ohia under the Heritage (Tourism) Opportunities in Hawaii (HOIHI) Grant Program (CFDA 15.068) on October 1, 2025, for a 12-month project addressing economic sustainability challenges facing Native Hawaiian kapa (bark cloth) practitioners. The project delivers nine monthly visitor workshops providing immersive cultural instruction in traditional kapa-making techniques, nine monthly community workshops building local cultural understanding, and an inaugural two-day annual kapa convention functioning as a cultural marketplace. Additional deliverables include advanced practitioner cohort training in heritage tourism business skills, culturally appropriate curriculum development for visitor engagement, and hands-on workshops covering the complete kapa creation process under the guidance of expert Dalani Tanahy.

The initiative aims to increase annual sales by $1,200 for 20 kapa makers and develop heritage tourism business skills among 10 practitioners through specialized training and visitor engagement programming. By positioning kapa practitioners as cultural educators and experience facilitators rather than solely product makers, the project establishes sustainable livelihood opportunities while preserving and transmitting traditional Native Hawaiian knowledge. The program establishes tourism industry partnerships and creates direct revenue-generating opportunities for cultural practitioners while maintaining the core Hawaiian value of hoihi (reverence and respect) in all visitor interactions.

The kapa heritage tourism project, led by hiohia over 12 months with a budget of $199,999, addresses the critical economic barriers facing native hawaiian kapa (bark cloth) practitioners, who despite decades of successful cultural revival efforts, struggle to achieve financial sustainability from their traditional craft. While kapa making has been successfully revived from near-extinction to a community of 12 masters, 20 apprentices, and 3,000-5,000 learners, only three practitioners currently earn 100% of their income from kapa due to hawaii high cost of living. This comprehensive heritage tourism initiative aims to create sustainable economic opportunities for nativehawaiian kapa practitioners while preserving and sharing traditional cultural knowledge through authentic visitorexperiences. The project will enable 20 kapa makers to increase sales by $1,200 each and develop heritage tourism business skills among 10 practitioners through specialized training and visitor engagement programming. Key activities include nine monthly visitor workshops providing immersive cultural instruction, nine monthlycommunity workshops building local cultural understanding, and an inaugural annual two-day kapa conventionserving as a premier cultural marketplace. The project also features advanced practitioner cohort training inheritage tourism business skills, culturally appropriate curriculum development for visitor engagement, tourismindustry partnerships, and traditional knowledge transmission through hands-on workshops covering the complete kapa creation process under the guidance of renowned expert dalani tanahy. The project will transform cultural knowledge into sustainable livelihood opportunities by establishing kapapractitioners as cultural educators and experience facilitators rather than solely product makers. Throughrespectful visitor engagement that centers native hawaiian knowledge holders as experts, the initiative willgenerate direct revenue while maintaining cultural integrity and traditional protocols. Post-grant sustainabilitywill be achieved through multiple revenue streams including continued tourism partnerships, hawaii tourismauthority event grants, native hawaiian organization sponsorships, and practitioner-operated individual visitorengagement businesses. This project embodies the principle of e hoihi AKU, e hoihi MAI (respect flowing both ways) by ensuringvisitors gain authentic cultural understanding while practitioners receive fair compensation for their expertise. The initiative directly supports the perpetuation of traditional hawaiian cultural practices while providingeconomic pathways that enable full-time dedication to cultural work, securing both cultural survival and economicprosperity for hawaii kapa-making community while establishing a replicable model for heritage tourism thathonors cultural values and creates economic independence for traditional practitioners.