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Episode 55: The Waip? Foundation with Stacy Sproat-Beck

The Waip? ahupua?a sits on the north shore of Kaua?i, a bountiful valley at the entrance to the N? Pali coast. Three decades ago the valley was threatened by commercial development but for now that threat is gone and today Waip? is a thriving center dedicated to the principles of aloha ??ina. Stacy Sproat-Beck, the executive director of the Waip? Foundation, says the organization is first and foremost the steward of the valley.

“We are taking care of the land and resources here, we are taking care of our community and welcoming school groups and all kinds of cultural groups.”

Today the staff of the Waip? Foundation m?lama, or care for, the ??ina, replanting and clearing to give the land what it needs to be healthy. They host festivals, run a farmer’s market, make 1,200 pounds of poi a week and have just built a community kitchen. They grow Hawaiian staples as well as arugula, kale, lettuce and pumpkins, and plants for traditional Hawaiian arts and crafts. Sproat-Beck says Waip? is amazing, beautiful land that has much to share.

“We try to inspire about our deep connection with land, with the ??ina, we try to reestablish in people that connection by looking, participating, working, learning, eating—and do all that through a Hawaiian cultural lens.”

researcher, writter, and narrator of Aloha Aina. She is currently an editor at Hawai‘i’s largest magazine, Hana Hou!, where she has written and edited numerous award-winning articles about Hawai‘i. She was the founding editor of Honolulu Weekly. She holds a BA in Pacific history and journalism from the University of Hawai‘i at Mänoa and a JD from Stanford Law School.
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