Featured Nonprofit: HOCVS

Hawaiian Outrigger Canoe and Voyaging Society (HOCVS)

Maui Living’s new program recognizes the foundation of our community—our Maui nonprofit organizations. Throughout the year, we’ll select outstanding organizations, award a donation, and share information about the incredible things they’re doing.

Water + Waʻa

 This Maui nonprofit has grown from a paddling club to a community connector, culture preserver, and healthy hub for Maui.

Hawaiian Outrigger Canoe Voyaging Society (HOCVS) was built on the vision to create, perpetuate, educate and inspire a sustainable lifestyle rooted in Hawaiian cultural values. They have done an incredible job of getting the community involved and making a positive mark on the community as a strong Maui nonprofit.

HOCVS Mission

HOCVS’s mission is to promote sustainability, environmental health and respect for Mother Earth and humankind through the preservation, education and perpetuation of the Hawaiian culture through protocol, voyaging and the way of life on the canoe.

What does HOCVS do?

HOCVS runs several community programs that all center around outrigger canoe paddling and Hawaiian cultural practices. Members of HOCVS paddle voyages circumnavigating the Hawaiian islands and crossing the channels from island to island. Promoting and preserving Hawaiian culture through protocol and hula classes, community events, and a youth program is the main focus of this non-profit.

HOCVS Paddling Club

Outrigger canoe paddling is offered 5 days a week. Find more about schedules, protocol classes, hula classes, and other special events at www.wearevoyagers.org. Join Hawaiian Outrigger Canoe Voyaging Society for just $40 a month or $400 for the year.

The Hoʻoulu Ka ʻIke Youth SUMMER Program

This is where children learn Hawaiian culture through nature and a connection to the aina. Local children 9-13 can sign up to master Hawaiian chants, feel the pull of the canoe on the ocean, and discover plants and animals in their own backyard. Four unique one-week sessions begin June 7th, 2021 and start fresh each following week. The four sessions focus on Canoeing, Wind, Sun, and Voyaging. Every day M-F, 8 AM to 2 PM.

TALK STORY:
ANELA GUTIERREZ, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Being in the canoe and working together proves that we could live harmoniously if we have respect for one another and do our part.

An interview with Anela Gutierrez reveals more about HOCVS and what they do to make Maui a better place as one of the most effective nonprofit organizations on the island.

MAUI LIVING: What is HOCVS?

ANELA: We are voyagers. Our ancestors came from across the Pacific Ocean on a double-hull voyaging canoe and settled to these islands we now call home. On a canoe, they were able to sustain themselves for weeks at a time, in the middle of the ocean. They understood that everyone on the canoe had a job to do and they understood the art of “not overstepping”; you tend to your job and did not tell others how to do theirs. Respect was the key to a peaceful, functioning environment. They took care of one another and respected each other. No pilikia (no trouble). They brought these values to their new home, the home we now call Hawai’i. He wa’a he moku, he moku he wa’a; the canoe is an island, the island is a canoe. This is a saying that we use. We take care of each other on the island the way we take care of each other on a canoe voyage. These are the values we have learned as Hawaiians. These are the values we teach others as Voyagers.

ML: How did HOCVS begin?

A: Hawaiian Outrigger Canoe Voyaging Society started in 2006 when Kimokeo Kapahulehua was given a task by his Uncle Kawika Kapahuluehua, former Captain of Hokuleʻa. He told Kimokeo to connect all the islands by canoe, to honor all their ancestors. Kimokeo paddled from Big Island of Hawai’i to Kure, the most northwestern Hawaiian island int the Hawai’i chain. WIth his crew, he paddled nearly 1700 miles.

Today, Hawaiian Outrigger Canoe Voyaging Society follows the legacy of Kimokeo Kapahulehua by taking the “sport” out of canoe paddling and focusing on the culture and values that we learn from the canoe. As an organization we focus on Culture, Sustainability and Health. Our membership offers canoe paddling, yoga, Hawaiian protocol classes, Hula classes, learning about planting your own foods. We provide services to the community by doing educational programs for youth and health programs for adults who are at-risk for hypertension and diabetes.

ML: How did you get involved in HOCVS?

A: I became involved in 2007 when I did my first voyage with Uncle around the island of Lanaʻi. My second voyage was soon after, from Lahaina to Waikiki and I have been voyaging ever since. I love voyaging because it pushes my limits to paddle for several hours through many types of conditions, some challenging. Also, when I am out in the middle of the ocean, it reminds me how we are just one small speck on this earth and some of the problems that we choose to carry is so insignificant and can be let go. There are much greater things in life to focus on. When we are on the canoe together, we look after each other and all do the job we need to do to get to our destination. Being in the canoe and working together proves that we could live harmoniously if we have respect for one another and do our part.