Waip? Cultural foodways food and farm tours

The Department of the Interior's Interior Business Center awarded Waipa Foundation a $115,445 Project Grant under the Native Hawaiian Community Guest Stewardship program (CFDA 15.068) effective October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2027. The award funds the development and delivery of cultural foodways and food and farm tours in Hawaii that honor Native Hawaiian values while generating economic opportunities for Native Hawaiian communities. The tours represent hands-on, immersive visitor experiences grounded in traditional Hawaiian agricultural practices and food traditions, designed to showcase Native Hawaiian heritage while creating earned revenue for cultural practitioners.

As a Native Hawaiian Organization-owned nonprofit based in Hanalei, Hawaii, Waipa Foundation brings established expertise in designing educational visitor experiences rooted in Hawaiian food traditions and agricultural heritage. The project aligns with the Heritage (Tourism) Opportunities in Hawaii grant program's core objective of implementing the Native American Tourism and Improving Visitor Experience Act by facilitating authentic and respectful visitor engagement that sustains Native Hawaiian cultural distinctiveness. Award activities support job creation and economic self-sufficiency within Native Hawaiian communities while advancing cultural preservation and heritage tourism as viable economic development pathways.