Nā Mea Hana Lima

Our Nā Mea Hana Lima (handmade crafts) program is a great way for our keiki’s and their parents
to connect with the Hawaiian culture. They are taught many handmade crafts such as ti leaf and
flower lei making, Ikaika (warrior) helmets fabrication, pū ʻohe (bamboo horn) fabrication, Hawaiian
ipu wai / ipu heke (Hawaiian gourd instrument) fabrication, and Hawaiian Pahu (drum) fabrication.
For some of our crafts, a field trip is taken to the gourd farm in Fallbrook, California, where our keiki’s
pick out their own gourds.

Upon course completion our keiki’s will have fabricated many hand-made Hawaiian crafts and learned a great deal about their origins and importance in the Hawaiian culture. In addition, our keiki’s through experience will better be able to understand and appreciate the ancient handmade crafts of Hawaiʻi. Some of the topics covered in this program are:

  • What are gourds
  • Gourds and their various uses in the Hawaiian culture
  • Gourd selection for a particular project
  • Hawaiian Warrior helmet fabrication
  • ʻOhe (Bamboo) and it’s many uses
  • pū ʻohe (bamboo horn) fabrication
  • Ipu Wai fabrication
  • Ti leaves and their importance in the Hawaiian culture

This program is a prerequisite for our “Mālama Maui Program”.