{"id":153418,"date":"2021-12-17T15:55:38","date_gmt":"2021-12-18T01:55:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=153418"},"modified":"2024-03-15T22:19:24","modified_gmt":"2024-03-16T08:19:24","slug":"grad-student-discovers-aina-based-kuleana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2021\/12\/17\/grad-student-discovers-aina-based-kuleana\/","title":{"rendered":"Grad student discovers \u02bb\u0101ina-based kuleana at <abbr>UH<\/abbr>"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 3<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><div class=\"responsive-video-wrap-post\"><figure class=\"wp-block-embed wp-block-embed-youtube is-type-video is-provider-youtube epyt-figure\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><iframe  id=\"_ytid_99043\"  width=\"620\" height=\"349\"  data-origwidth=\"620\" data-origheight=\"349\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/--aBuifDW2w?enablejsapi=1&origin=https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu&rel=0&autoplay=0&cc_load_policy=0&cc_lang_pref=&iv_load_policy=1&loop=0&fs=1&playsinline=0&autohide=2&theme=dark&color=red&controls=1&disablekb=0&\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  no-lazyload\" title=\"Kahealani - Finding Our Kuleana, University of Hawai\u02bbi at M\u0101noa\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div>\n<p>A deep-seated gut instinct urged <strong>Kahealani Acosta<\/strong> to leave her roots in San Jose and attend the University of <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa. Acosta, who is part Native Hawaiian, had never stepped foot in the birthplace of her k\u016bpuna (elders) and yearned to learn about her Indigenous lineage.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It was a feeling in my <span aria-label=\"naau\">na&#699;au<\/span> (gut instinct), I knew I was Hawaiian but didn\u2019t know what that meant and I needed to know,&rdquo; she explained. &ldquo;I knew I needed to go and understand what that meant.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Acosta is one of four students set to be featured in <abbr title=\"University of Hawaii\">UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa\u2019s &ldquo;Finding Our Kuleana,&rdquo; campaign, a collection of personal narratives that capture students who discover their purpose and sense of responsibility while pursuing college degrees.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Read more about &ldquo;Finding Our Kuleana&rdquo;<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2021\/12\/17\/students-discover-share-kuleana\/\">Students discover, share kuleana at <abbr>UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa<\/a>, December 17, 2021<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In 2013, Acosta began her path toward a bachelor\u2019s degree in <a href=\"http:\/\/manoa.hawaii.edu\/ctahr\/tpss\/\">tropical plant and soil sciences<\/a> (<abbr>TPSS<\/abbr>) at <abbr>UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/cms.ctahr.hawaii.edu\/\">College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources<\/a> (<abbr>CTAHR<\/abbr>). Motivated by an interest in food nutrition, her academic journey helped her explore ways to heal our food systems by producing foods from <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> through organic and regenerative practices.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In Hawaiian, the word for land is &#699;\u0101ina,&rdquo; she explained. &ldquo;And &#699;\u0101ina is also the old word for &#699;ohana. When you\u2019re eating food&#8230;it\u2019s your &#699;\u0101ina that\u2019s sustaining you. It\u2019s your family that\u2019s sustaining you.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Through <abbr>CTAHR<\/abbr>, Acosta discovered what she describes as a profound connection to &#699;\u0101ina while working at <span aria-label=\"MAO\">MA&#699;O<\/span> Organic Farms in <span aria-label=\"Waianae\">Wai&#699;anae<\/span>, one of the state\u2019s largest certified organic farms that generates more than 40 varieties of fruits and vegetables. Through <span aria-label=\"MAO\">MA&#699;O<\/span>\u2019s Farm Expansion Experience, she accepted a position to help shape Leeward <span aria-label=\"Oahu\">O&#699;ahu<\/span> youth hungry for critical guidance transitioning into adulthood. Through &#699;\u0101ina-based learning at <span aria-label=\"MAO\">MA&#699;O<\/span>, Acosta intertwined life lessons for the students while navigating hands-on work on the farm, everything from tilling the soil to planting and harvesting crops at the sprawling parcel in Lualualei Valley.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It was a fulfilling experience for me because I finally felt like I belonged and realized my story was no different from these youth,&rdquo; said Acosta. &ldquo;I wanted to show them that they have all the opportunities I have and they can transcend from stereotypical views and do what you love and are passionate about.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2>Discovering parallels<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_153412\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-153412\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/manoa-finding-our-kuleana-acosta-2-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"Kahealani Acosta working in a field\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-153412\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/manoa-finding-our-kuleana-acosta-2-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/manoa-finding-our-kuleana-acosta-2-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/manoa-finding-our-kuleana-acosta-2.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-153412\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kahealani Acosta<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>At <abbr>UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa, Acosta continues to strive alongside her mentors and is currently working on a master\u2019s degree in <abbr>TPSS<\/abbr> and preparing a thesis based on breadfruit (&#699;ulu) nutrient deficiencies. The 28-year-old expressed a personal bout with a serious illness that led her to deeply connect with &#699;ulu. She explained the connection was an almost mystical bond, one that propelled her to seek solutions for debilitating ailments plaguing breadfruit.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It just felt like the tree was trying to teach me a lesson about myself and I found out that the tree was trying to help me restore all of that hurt and illness I was going through,&rdquo; Acosta said.<\/p>\n<p>Her research focuses on how to best treat problems that may compromise the tree\u2019s health. Acosta\u2019s goal is to develop a manual for farmers to assist in helpful nutrient management techniques and provide access to more breadfruit resources.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Kahealani\u2019s journey exemplifies <abbr>CTAHR<\/abbr>\u2019s educational mission, which is to provide the opportunity for our students to learn,&rdquo; said <abbr>CTAHR<\/abbr> Dean <strong>Nicholas Comerford<\/strong>. &ldquo;That means learning how to work together, how to evaluate issues, how to bring their knowledge to bear on solutions, and hopefully, how to communicate those solutions to our relevant communities.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Acosta has also managed to delve into the innovation field, she combined her love of m\u0101lama &#699;\u0101ina (caring for the land) and spearheaded the design and development of a board game. The educational game, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/vegcontinuum.com\/\">&#699;\u0100ina Continuum<\/a><\/em>, is Acosta\u2019s startup launched during <abbr>UH<\/abbr>\u2019s mentorship program, (K)new Futures Challenge. Guided by the <a href=\"https:\/\/manoa.hawaii.edu\/nhpol\/\"><abbr>UH<\/abbr> Office of Indigenous Innovation<\/a>, <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Office of Sustainability and <abbr>UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa Native Hawaiian Place of Learning Advancement Office, the program helps to enhance student projects by drawing upon Hawaiian ancestral knowledge.<\/p>\n<p>This campaign is an example of <abbr>UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa\u2019s goal of <a href=\"https:\/\/manoa.hawaii.edu\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/manoa-2025-strategic-plan.pdf#page=12\">Becoming a Native Hawaiian Place of Learning<\/a> (<span class=\"small-text\"><abbr title=\"Portable Document Format\">PDF<\/abbr><\/span>), <a href=\"https:\/\/manoa.hawaii.edu\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/manoa-2025-strategic-plan.pdf#page=20\">Enhancing Student Success<\/a> (<span class=\"small-text\"><abbr title=\"Portable Document Format\">PDF<\/abbr><\/span>), <a href=\"https:\/\/manoa.hawaii.edu\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/manoa-2025-strategic-plan.pdf#page=25\">Excellence in Research: Advancing the Research and Creative Work Enterprise<\/a> (<span class=\"small-text\"><abbr title=\"Portable Document Format\">PDF<\/abbr><\/span>) and<a href=\"https:\/\/manoa.hawaii.edu\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/manoa-2025-strategic-plan.pdf#page=28\"> Building a Sustainable and Resilient Campus Environment: Within the Global Sustainability and Climate Resilience Movement<\/a> (<span class=\"small-text\"><abbr title=\"Portable Document Format\">PDF<\/abbr><\/span>) the four goals identified in the <em><a href=\"https:\/\/manoa.hawaii.edu\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/manoa-2025-strategic-plan.pdf\">2015&#8211;25 Â鶹´«Ã½<\/a><\/em> (<span class=\"small-text\"><abbr title=\"Portable Document Format\">PDF<\/abbr><\/span>), updated in December 2020.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kahealani Acosta is featured in the &lsquo;Finding Our Kuleana&rdquo; campaign and explains discovering purpose during her academic journey. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[212,33,1057,1466,1465,1363,1314,1038,73,432,9,56,1626],"class_list":["post-153418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-college-of-tropical-agriculture-and-human-resilience","tag-hawaiian","tag-hawaiian-language","tag-manoa-enhancing-student-success","tag-manoa-native-hawaiian-place-of-learning","tag-manoa-research","tag-manoa-sustainability","tag-office-of-sustainability","tag-sustainability","tag-tropical-plant-and-soil-sciences","tag-uh-manoa","tag-video-2","tag-women-of-uh","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153418"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153418\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":156134,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153418\/revisions\/156134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}