Namea Hoshino & Kaliko Storer of Lahaina

This recording is part of Hui Mo‘olelo: Lahaina, our 2025–2026 gathering of richly detailed talk-story recordings created to inform future public artwork, support collective healing, and provide trusted, community-informed guidance for the Lahaina Memorial Project. Here, Namea Hoshino reflects on his deep genealogical roots and upbringing in the heart of Lahaina. He describes a childhood defined by a landlocked family parcel hidden behind commercial buildings, where navigating through parking lots and sensing the natural rhythms of the ocean and church bells created a unique sense of place. The conversation transitions from personal nostalgia to Hoshino’s professional commitment to Hawaiian cultural restoration, specifically his expertise in traditional kalo (taro) cultivation and his efforts to verify and preserve ancestral plant varieties. Hoshino advocates for a future centered on agricultural self-sufficiency and reforestation rather than a dependency on tourism, emphasizing the responsibility to pass down indigenous knowledge and a strong work ethic to the next generation.