About Us
Originally known as the ʻEwa Beach Limu Project, the ʻEwa Limu Project started as a limu (seaweed) restoration and planting effort at ʻEwa Beach in the 1990s. The Project aims to restore the vision of limu abundance, honor ʻike kūpuna (knowledge from ancestors), cultivate kīpuka communities, and educate the next generation to mālama 'āina.
Currently, it is a volunteer-run organization. The ʻEwa Limu Project is part of E Alu Pū and also connected to the Limu Hui, all of which are supported by and connected to Kua'aina Ulu 'Auamo (KUA). In 2014 members of the ʻEwa Limu Project hosted the first Limu Hui Gathering in Punaluʻu, Oʻahu. Over the years, the ʻEwa Limu Project has organized numerous outreach activities, including limu walks, show-and-tells, limu planting events with the intention to reviving the practice of limu cultivation, as it is a core component of Hawaiian culture.
Currently, it is a volunteer-run organization. The ʻEwa Limu Project is part of E Alu Pū and also connected to the Limu Hui, all of which are supported by and connected to Kua'aina Ulu 'Auamo (KUA). In 2014 members of the ʻEwa Limu Project hosted the first Limu Hui Gathering in Punaluʻu, Oʻahu. Over the years, the ʻEwa Limu Project has organized numerous outreach activities, including limu walks, show-and-tells, limu planting events with the intention to reviving the practice of limu cultivation, as it is a core component of Hawaiian culture.
T H E HUI
Our Pillars
Uncle Henry Chang Wo Jr.Uncle Henry is one of the founders of the ʻEwa (Beach) Limu Project. His was a fisherman grew up in the ʻEwa moku, where he gathered limu with his grandmother, mother, and aunty as a young boy. Aiming to restore knowledge about limu, he started doing limu show-and-tell in the 1990s, with other kūpuna. He passed away in 2015 but his ʻike and spirit continues to guide the project.
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Dr. Isabella Kauakea Aiona Abbott, "The Limu Lady"Dr. Isabella Kauakea Aiona Abbot, while not directly tied to the ʻEwa Limu Project, has been a source of inspiration for many limu lovers. During her 91 years of life here on earth she helped to bring centuries-old Hawaiian knowledge to the halls of Western academia, was the first Native Hawaiian to earn a PhD in science, and became of of the preeminent authorities on Pacific marine plants.
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Uncle Walter Kamanā
Uncle Walter was a "kīpuka person." He hailed from Nānākuli, but helped to spark interest in limu for people across the paeʻāina. “The function of kīpuka is not to stay a kīpuka, the purpose is to provide seedlings that can get planted outside and regrow new forests.” For 11 years, up until his passing in 2004, Uncle Walter led monthly limu planting efforts. And although he is no longer physically with us, the kīpuka that he grew continue to seed.
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Our Alakaʻi
Uncle Wally ItoUncle Wally is the current project director of the 'Ewa Limu Project. He has been a a spearfisherman since he was eight. He has a B.S. in marine biology and was recruited by Uncle Henry to help with the ʻEwa Limu Project in 2009. He envisioned a limu gathering where limu lovers could gather, and it came to fruition in 2014. Uncle Wally served as the Limu Hui coordinator with KUA from 2015 to 2021. He has since retired from his official job with KUA but continues to devote his time to limu stewardship.
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Aunty Pam FujiiAunty Pam is an active member of the 'Ewa Limu Project. She is an educator, now employed as a project specialist for the Hawaii Coral Reef Initiative and the Pacific International Training Desk at the University of Hawai’i Manoa. Aunty Pam has joined the Project since she first volunteer at the Anuenue Fisheries Research Center on one Saturday. And she never left.
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Our Next Generation of Limu Stewards
Miwa TamanahaMiwa's connection to the ʻEwa Limu Project is many-layered: Miwa helped to organize the first Limu Hui gathering, is a Co-founder and Co-director Emeritus of KUA, and she calls ʻEwa Moku home. With her passion for limu being rooted right in her own backyard, Miwa continues to work as a network weaver to bring people who care together. Miwa counts herself blessed through ʻEwa Limu Project to get to listen and learn from countless teachers, community members, and their limu stories.
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Malia HeimuliMalia Heimuli is KUA's new Limu Hui Coordinator. Prior to her current appointment Malia had been Uncle Wally's kākoʻo as the Assistant Limu Hui Coordinator for 2 years - carrying the collection bag on limu walks and always being one of the first people to help set up for community limu presentations. She is from Kahaluʻu, Koʻolaupoko as has worked for the past 10 years with other non-profit organizations in mālama ʻāina and youth programming.
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