Perpetuating communal practices
Working with hala (Pandanus tectorius) is based on a deeper value system that respects our natural resources, kūpuna, kumu, and community. KEANAHALA is a community weaving program that welcomes all and embraces and perpetuates the Native Hawaiian practice of ulana lauhala (pandanus weaving) as an everyday affirmation of cultural resiliency and presence.
We focus on weaving mea ulana ʻia - useful, every day things, including baskets, placemats and moena, floor mats for our living spaces. We bring the natural world into our homes through a first hand relationship with pū hala or the pandanus tree. The program offers participants the opportunity to acquire a new skills, share stories, and make connections through weaving and learning. This Native Hawaiian process of inclusion and collaboration will empower you in unanticipated ways.
The workshop structure of KEANAHALA honors the process from ‘āina to moena, from the land to the home — including harvesting, the proper preparation of the leaves, weaving, and repairing moena. Beginners and seasoned weavers alike are welcome to join any class currently offered. We highly recommend that you come more than once to hanapaʻa, to make fast the knowledge, so that you will learn to remember rather than to forget. Repetition is key, and our hui is rooted in sustained relationships. By making moena together, we learn this communal practice by doing.
KEANAHALA workshops and prep sessions vary from month to month.
Click the button to the left to book see the current schedule and book a workshop.
MOENA HALIʻA
Begin with a Moena Haliʻa, a small “memory mat,” approximately 6×6.” Allow yourself 90 minutes to finish.
PAPA ‘ĀINA
Continue learning lau hala weaving with tabletop-worthy placemats. Allow yourself 3 hours to complete.
MOENA WĀWAE
Fine tune your weaving skills with a personal floor mat (approx. 2’ x 3’) in this two to three day workshop.
Community Moena Retreats
Periodically, we offer special weaving opportunities for those who want to deepen their weaving practice. Retreats include large community centered lau hala mat weaving projects, commissions, and repairs in public and private institutions and homes across Hawaiʻi. To stay updated on weaving opportunities, please email Emma at emma@puuhonua-society.org
ulana hou ma mokulēʻia. MOENA REPAIR RETREAT.
Participant Survey
Have you recently participated in a KEANAHALA workshop or prep session? If yes, we’d love to hear from you. We value your feedback, as your comments will help us improve the program to better support a growing weaving community.
Support for KEANAHALA is provided, in part, by National Endowment for the Arts, Maxwell / Hanrahan Foundation, and Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority’s Kūkulu Ola Program and has received additional support from the Hawaiʻi State Foundation on Culture and the Arts and Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
