Cultural Curriculum Specialist & Education Consultant
MĀLA MAOLI
A place-based learning framework guided by ʻike Hawaiʻi and the living systems of the natural world.
What is the Māla Maoli Learning Framework?
Māla Maoli, meaning native garden spaces, is a place-based learning framework guided by ʻike Hawaiʻi and the living systems of the natural world.
Native plants and landscapes serve as learning environments where learners practice kilo, the intentional act of careful observation and a traditional way of learning. Through repeated observation and direct engagement with ʻāina, learners cultivate meaningful relationships with place, seasonal rhythms, and ecological relationships.
The framework is guided by four interconnected foundations that shape how learning is experienced and sustained.
Māla Maoli is grounded in four interconnected foundations that guide learning, relationships, and stewardship.
The Māla Maoli Framework brings together its foundations, learning process, pathways of practice, and intended outcomes into one interconnected system. While each element can stand on its own, together they cultivate meaningful relationships with place through observation, stewardship, and ongoing learning.
Keiki Kilo is one of the learning pathways within Māla Maoli, created for ʻohana to practice kilo together through place, patterns, and everyday obseration.
Māla Maoli in Action
See how the framework comes to life through community partnership, place-based learning, and ongoing stewardship.
Students and families volunteered on a Saturday to build raised māla beds, creating a new outdoor learning space where stewardship and relationships with ʻāina could take root.
Students explored the question, "What is kilo?" through observation of native plants growing in the hydroponics system, practicing careful observation as a traditional way of learning.
During the "What is Mahina?" cultural workshop, students used Hawaiian moon phase learning tools IHō Mai Ka Pono mahina cards) to observe patterns, strengthen inquiry, and deepen their understanding of seasonal cycles and place.
Teachers and school administrators learn kilo practice at Kealoha Pt. (Heʻeia State Park) and plant one maʻo seed for themselves and one to donate back to Mālama Learning Center and their native plant restoration efforts in the Waiʻanae moku.