Iopa Maunakea: Standing By Ma‘ata Tukuafu
KeOlaMagazine.com | November-December 2021
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ry land taro plants are being hand-watered by two young men, one with headphones and the other holding a sprayer, in the Pāhoa morning sun. Banana trees, young la‘i (ti leaf), coconut, ‘ulu, and other thriving endemic plants are carefully planted and encircled by lava rocks found on the land. This is the seven-acre headquarters for Men of PA‘A, a 501(c)3 nonprofit that was originally founded by Iopa Maunakea in 2006. Iopa explains that the leased land was run down and misused by tenants from 1994 to 2004. After regaining the land, he was able to clean up the acreage to prepare it for a positive and regenerative use, a reintegration program for released prisoners and other community projects for the betterment of community. PA‘A, which means solid or firm in Hawaiian, is also an acronym for Positive Action Alliance, a thriving organization that has done much good on this island. Iopa, also known as the musician Bruddah Kuz, says all of this would never have happened if he didn’t start out with his 2000 CD release “Talkin’ Da Kine,” with the Bruddah Kuz Band. “It was at the events from performing that helped create the partnerships we have today,” Iopa says. “It evolved into gathering community to help with church events and other local festivals and gatherings. The music of Bruddah Kuz was the vehicle that inspired the Men of PA‘A.” Iopa worked as an operating engineer with the Local 3 Union, surveying and flying back and forth from O‘ahu. Retiring in June 2020, he began planting food, rejuvenating the land, and uplifting men’s spirits. He says during his career, work was routine, following set hours, but he’s now busier than ever, sustaining the programs he has created. Iopa’s success story with helping others begins with his grandmother Katherine Maunakea. Born in 1907, Katherine is the kupuna who set the foundation for the work ethic and aloha that her descendants carry forth today. Despite high poverty while living in Nanakuli, O‘ahu, Katherine was a teacher to many people. She knew that imparting Working on Adopt-A-Highway, a project Men of Paÿa has participated in for the last 15 years.
The Imu Mea Aÿi Project with the University of Washington Justice for Hawaii project. self-confidence in the Hawaiian community would make them strong and capable. She published books on lauhala preparation and weaving, Hawaiian medicine, and a prayer book. Katherine, who was very humble, was awarded and recognized for her many deeds and accomplishments before she passed in 1994. “I’ve realized that she was setting me up to do much of the same work she did,” Iopa says. “I garner all the kūpuna ‘ike [wisdom] I can see, and exchange how it works for us today. We find resources, make strategic plans, and be administratively sound and transparent.” He mentions that one of his grandmother’s favorite ‘ōlelo no‘eau was, “Ne Huli ka lima iluna Pololi ka Opu, Ne Huli ka lima ilalo, Piha ka Opu.” (When your hands are turned up like a beggar you have an empty stomach. When your hands are turned down to the land, you have a full stomach.) His nephew, Dr. Alika Maunakea, is a geneticist at University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Iopa’s sister helped found the thriving Ma‘o Farms, a nonprofit organic farm in Waianae, O‘ahu. She
