story by Mike Morris
photographs by Ryan Siphers
The open-air workshop in KawewehiPundyke’s upcountry backyard buzzes with the sound of power tools each month.
On this sunny Saturday morning in April, couples and individuals were sanding and smoothing pohakukuiai (poi pounding stones) at four workstations. The previous month, they were in the same space transforming slabs of wood, including monkeypod and mango, into papa kuiai (poipounding boards).
After a quick lunch break, it was time to put their creations to use.
Pundyke’s daughter, Makana, described the techniques of pounding kalo (taro) with the stone on the board, while her husband, Kupono, demonstrated. The group then gave it a try using steamed kalo harvested from the yard.
“When we kui we want to have good energy – you’re putting that into the food,” she told the group. “We always want to have good intentions with what we’re making and sharing.”
Loiloa is a nonprofit organization that hosts monthly hands-on workshops for people to make pounding boards and stones as a way to connect with native Hawaiian culture and prepare food traditionally at home. Participants are typically couples or families. A majority are Hawaiian and live on Maui.
Following a workshop last summer at Pundyke’s Kula property, five families pounded kalo as well as ulu (breadfruit) before eating desserts they called “Hawaiian sundaes.”
While the sundaes included haupia ice cream covered with toppings such as macadamia nuts and lilikoi butter, what made them “Hawaiian” was the secret ingredient: poi, a traditional food made by pounding kalo and adding water until it becomes a paste.
And what made the sundaes even more “Hawaiian” is that the families ate poi they had just made with their own hands.
“It’s empowering. It makes them feel more rooted,” said Pundyke, project director and founder of Loiloa. “There’s this pride of being Hawaiian and, ‘I know how to do this.’ Just taking away some of that stigma – that you’re not good enough if you don’t know how to kui.”
Kamaile Pahukoa said her grandfather had a board in need of some repairs, so she decided to make a new one for her family.
“I know once it goes back home, it will be used by everyone,” the 27-year-old Keanae resident said.
Her prediction was correct: Eight months after attending her workshops last summer, Pahukoa said they’re used at least monthly.
The noise of power tools and the dust of stone and wood fill the air at Loiloa, a nonprofit that teaches its students to make papa kui ai (poi pounding boards) and pōhaku kui ai (poi pounding stones). The activity builds pride in the students’ Hawaiian identity.
“I’m so grateful to have my own papa and pohaku,” she said. “My church also just recently had a kui kalo workshop so it was used by a few people that day as well, and we will hopefully have more workshops in the future where it will be used again. I actually madepaiai yesterday – just enough for me and my tūtū to enjoy.”
Loiloa began as a grassroots group in 2006 and became a nonprofit in 2010. Initially, the organization worked primarily in Iao Valley with first-time offenders as part of the Maui Police Department’s Positive Outreach Interventions, otherwise known as the POI Program.
While the goal back then was to build pride and self-esteem through hands-on activities based in Hawaiian cultural practices, the same remains true for the workshops currently held in Kula.
“There’s a sense of accomplishment putting the board and stone to use,” said Ohai Daniels, one of three Loiloa board members.
Pundyke, 58, recalled a story from a few years ago when his elderly neighbor heard him pounding poi in his garage.
“Just seeing and hearing it made her think about when she was a little girl on Molokai,” he said.
Of course, Pundyke brought her some poi, which he said she was grateful for – but even more so, she was happy he was keeping the tradition alive.
Since ancient times, kalo has been an essential part of the Hawaiian diet. Keanae resident Kamaile Pahukoa (left) uses her papa kui ai and pohaku kui ai regularly to pound kalo for her family and community.
Since ancient times, kalo has been an essential part of the Hawaiian diet.
Pundyke, a former police officer and game warden, said he wants to inspire Hawaiians to grow kalo and have a relationship with the sacred crop.
“We want to rekindle that love. It’s something we hope to spark,” he said. “I want people to realize they don’t need 10 acres – they can grow it on their porch, on their balcony. If you take care of it, it will take care of you.”
Pundyke knows first-hand the power of nutrition and the importance of what people eat. During the pandemic, he watched the documentary “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead” and decided to try a 60-day green juice cleanse.
After regularly drinking juice from green apple, celery, ginger, cucumber and kale, he kept losing weight and eventually shed about 100 pounds. “It must have, like, reset me,” he said.
Although he hasn’t tried juicing kalo, Pundyke said he likes to use it in homemade stews – and, of course, “Hawaiian sundaes” for dessert.
For more information about Loiloa or to volunteer or donate, visit loiloa.org. To be added to the group’s workshop waitlist, contact Lo‘iloa via Instagram (@loiloa.iaovalley), Facebook (Loiloa Iao Valley) or email at LoiloaIaoValley@gmail.com.
