Restoring Wailua
Restoration and protection of this important site via a community driven process to purchase the former Coco Palms Hotel parcels and develop a thriving Hawaiian cultural & education center, agricultural park & resource for generations to come.
We propose a process that honors the deep history of this place, both ancient & modern, led by individuals with ancestral ties and rooted to this ʻāina.
The site is surrounded by ancient heiau (religious sites), was t he birthing place f or royalty, the site of astronomical tracking of the rising heavens, a gathering place and social headquarters in ancient Hawaiʻi. It is said that King Kaumualiʻi's favorite place to live was in Wailua.
Two ancient loko i ʻa (fishponds) Loko Puʻuone (or Loko Hakuone) – inland fishponds Weuweu and Kaiwiʻiki (or Kawaiʻiki) – are still present on t he property. In old Hawaiʻi, these were used for fish caught in the ocean. They would place the fish in saltwater ponds then slowly move them to freshwater ponds for fattening. These ponds are estimated to be between 600 and 800 years old. Mahele records also show the seaward portion of the former Resort encompasses Mahunapuʻuone burial grounds.
Wailua is the home of multiple sacred religious sites. There are heiau, sacred temples, starting from the mouth of the Wailua river all the way to the summit of Mt. Waiʻaleʻale.