Lauhala Beauty

What a treat it was to have Mahina and Cheryl Pukahi (husband and wife team) from Wai'anae bring their beautiful hand-made lauhala treasures to Makeke Kapolei, and to teach us how to make something with our own hands. Many people came by to give it a try and take home a custom-made bracelet.

Here are some of the tools used to prepare the lauhala. The wooden box-like tool is used to cut the leaves into strips of even widths.

Here is a roll of lauhala, ready to be cut into strips.

And here are the show-stealers, honu!  (turtles!)  Aren't they so cute?!

Mahalo to the Pukahis for sharing their knowledge and skills with us, and mahalo to the Hawai`i Tourism Authority and Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement for making this session possible.