KUA o Kanāueue Board

The West Hawaii Community Kitchen is owned and managed by KUA o Kanāueue, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in 2006. Our mission is to be a community resource that enhances regional food self-sufficiency and resilience by supporting food production enterprises and facilitating sustainable agricultural practices.

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Kumu Keala Ching serves as our board secretary and Alaka‘i (leader and guide) for all Hawaiian culture-based projects on KUA o Kanāueue’s 38-acre educational campus. He is a Native Hawaiian cultural educator, composer, song writer, and spiritual advisor to many Hawaiian organizations. Kumu Keala lives and breathes aloha into his Hawaiian heritage with his strong presence and great heart.

Growing up on the island of O’ahu, Keala Ching began his hula training as a dancer with the Men of Waimapuna under the direction of the late Darrel Ihi’ihilauakea Lupenui. In 1999 he became a practitioner of Ho‘oponopono with Kupuna Malia Craver, a cultural specialist at the Queen Lili‘uokalani Children’s center. He is a graduate of University of Hawai‘i, Manoa with a degree in early childhood education.

Under the tutelage of Loea Frank Kawaikapuokalani Hewett, Keala has spent many years learning and building his knowledge.  Recently he graduated in the ‘uniki rites to be a kumu hula.  He is fluent in the Hawaiian language, which he uses as the foundation for teaching all of his students.

He currently lives in Kailua-Kona, where he is Kumu Hula for Ka Pa Hula Na Wai Iwi Ola. As a composer of chants and mele, he travels the world to share hula. Kumu Keala is Co-founder and Executive Director of Na Wai Iwi Ola (NWIO) Foundation.  He is also Kumu Hula and cultural advisor to Halau Na Wai Ola in Sunnyvale, California, – Kumu Hula Ka‘ai Isa-Kahaku; Halau Na Wai Pana o Keala – Kumu Yukari Uchio; Halau Na Wai Ola o Keala – Kumu Kazumi Chiwacchi both in Japan; and Halau Na Wai ‘Ohi‘a – Kumu Noelle Delaquis in Zurich, Switzerland.

imgres-1Michael Kramer, who serves as our board president, has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to personal and global sustainability.

Michael is Managing Partner and Director of Social Research of Natural Investments LLC, a Registered Investment Adviser that exclusively manages socially responsible investment (SRI) portfolios, a Green America-certified green business, and a founding B Corporation, with offices in 12 states. He is co-author of “The Resilient Investor: A Plan for Your Life, Not Just Your Money.” In 2005, he founded the Kuleana Green Business Program of the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce. He serves on the board of the Sustainability Association of Hawai‘i, Feed Hawaii, Sustain Hawaii, and USSIF: The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment.

Michael is the founder of the West Hawai‘i Fatherhood Initiative, a program of Family Support Hawai‘i. He was a Founding Commissioner to the Hawai’i State Commission on Fatherhood, upon which he served as Vice-Chair. He has been a permaculture teacher and teacher trainer since the early ’90s.

Kanu 'uluRafael Ramirez  managed the West Hawaii Legal Aid Society office for 22 years, providing legal assistance, education and representation for the low-income communities of West Hawai‘i. He developed self-help divorce and bankruptcy clinics to empower these target communities and created an interdisciplinary support network for the elderly and disabled. He was one of the founders of Keōua Hōnaunau Canoe Club and has served as its president, guiding the club’s paddling, cultural and environmental stewardship programs. With a background in cultural anthropology, he has worked extensively on Native Hawaiian land issues and has been an organic coffee farmer, land manager and advocate for sustainable agriculture in Kona for more than 40 years.

Martha Stephens Portrait

Martha Stephens is an artist and designer who has been living in Kealia, South Kona for 15 years. She has been involved in business and community service for more than half her life, and has served on numerous nonprofit boards,  Martha was a delegate to the last White House Conference on Small Business in 1995, and has coached and led many people in projects that make a difference for their communities.

Nature, food and the art of living are her passions and she believes in local sustainable farming and food production for the future of our keiki and community here on the Big Island.