Ku’i Kalo
Kapono Victor, originally from Kaimuki, O`ahu, moved to Vancouver at age 11. Ironically, his desire to learn more about his Hawaiian heritage grew deeper by being away from home and lacking Hawaiian cultural engagement in Washington. He made the decision to move back home and dive right into his culture, making up for lost time and learning as much as he could. He looks to several kumu for his knowledge base and experience: Keone Nunes, Keli`i Makua, and Alika Sing to name a few. He states that his kūpuna “are the biggest kumu because they do talk to us, we just need to listen.” His experience in ku`i kalo has been consistent for 6 years, making poi at least once a week. “Ku`i kalo has not changed for us in thousands of years,” which is important for Victor as he knows it feels good to practice something exactly the way our kūpuna have.