Mala O Kaluaopalena Community Garden
at the Towers at Kuhio Park housing community
“Thankful to have a place that connects me back to my home land.”
Established in 2013, the Mala O Kaluaopalena Community Garden is a cooperative project between the Roots Program and the Kuhio Park Terrace (KPT) public housing community. Located on a quarter-acre plot on the property of the largest public housing community in the state of Hawai'i, Garden provides a space for community members of all ethnicities and backgrounds to gather, practice and share traditional food growing practices, and learn about one another. In this space, community members can cultivate banana, cassava, hibiscus, and other Pacific crops, generating abundance that can be shared throughout the community.
This location is a popular hang-out for community youth searching for a fun after-school experience, but we also host families looking for an activity to do together, kupuna with rich knowledge to share, community residents seeking a rewarding way to fulfill First-to-Work requirements, school excursion groups, and anyone who values fresh air, sunshine, meeting neighbors, and building positive space in the Kalihi community.