Glossary
Hawaiian-language and regenerative-tourism term definitions used across Holoholo. Listen to pronunciation; defer to native speakers and cultural practitioners for nuance.
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- mālama ʻāinahawaiian
- To care for the land. A foundational concept in the Native Hawaiian worldview — reciprocal stewardship between people and place. Often used in tourism contexts as the directive for visitor behavior.
- Mālama Hawaiʻi Programenglish
- The Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority's formal partnership program connecting visitors who give back with operators who host them. Some hotel stays offer Mālama discounts for visitors who complete a volunteer workday.
- aloha ʻāinahawaiian
- Love for and responsibility to the land. The cultural foundation that mālama ʻāina expresses in practice. A cornerstone of the Native Hawaiian worldview.
- loʻihawaiian
- An irrigated taro patch — a terraced pond field, fed by stream water through auwai (channels), where kalo (taro) is grown. Traditional cornerstone of Hawaiian agriculture.
- kalohawaiian
- Taro (Colocasia esculenta). In the Native Hawaiian creation account, kalo is Hāloa, the elder sibling of the Hawaiian people. The plant's well-being and the community's well-being are understood as the same thing.
- olihawaiian
- A traditional Hawaiian chant. At regenerative workdays, oli mark the opening protocol — an invocation of place, ancestors, and intent. Visitors stand quietly during oli, phones in bag, listening.
- kuleanahawaiian
- Responsibility, privilege, and authority — interlinked. The kuleana of a family or nonprofit hosting a workday is theirs to define; visitors honor it by being guests, not customers.
- ʻāinahawaiian
- The land — but also the people, water, and life that the land supports. Inseparable from culture; not interchangeable with English 'land' as commodity.
- regenerative tourismenglish
- A category of travel that actively contributes to restoring ecosystems and communities — not merely minimizing harm (which is sustainable tourism). Distinct from voluntourism by its emphasis on operator-led restoration outcomes over visitor experience.
- sustainable tourismenglish
- Travel that aims to reduce harm: leave no trace, minimize emissions, respect local rules. A low bar — 'don't make things worse.' Distinct from regenerative tourism, which aims to actively restore.
- hulihawaiian
- The top of a harvested kalo plant, replanted to start the next growth cycle. The act of huli planting closes the regenerative loop on a taro workday.
- auwaihawaiian
- Irrigation channels that move stream water through loʻi. Maintaining auwai is structural work — some workdays focus on rebuilding rock walls and clearing channels.
- kumuhawaiian
- Teacher, foundation, source. The cultural lead running a workday is often referred to as the kumu of the day; their guidance sets the pace and protocol.
- kuʻaunahawaiian
- The bank walls that separate adjacent loʻi (taro patches). Structural; not walkways. Workday participants are asked not to step on them.
- limuhawaiian
- Seaweed / sea algae. Native limu species are crowded out by invasives like Gracilaria salicornia and Avrainvillea amadelpha — reef workdays often involve hand-pulling the introduced species.
- ʻōhiʻa lehuahawaiian
- Metrosideros polymorpha — the keystone tree of native Hawaiian forests. The red flower is the lei of Pele. Currently under threat from rapid ʻōhiʻa death; biosecurity protocols on forest workdays exist primarily to limit fungal spread.
- koahawaiian
- Acacia koa — the canopy of upland native Hawaiian forest. Nitrogen-fixing; shelters slower-growing understory species. A common outplanting species at native-forest workdays.
- loko iʻahawaiian
- Hawaiian fishpond. A traditional aquaculture system; several on Oʻahu (Heʻeia, Pāʻāʻiluʻa, Heʻeia Kea) are being restored by community trusts.