A place for our stories to live
We grow up hearing stories so often that we assume they’ll always be there. Stories around the dinner table. Stories from our kūpuna. Stories about where we came from, how things used to be, what our families went through, and the small things that shaped who we are. Until one day, we realize we never recorded them.
Over the years, KŪ Project has changed in a lot of ways. But the thing underneath the work has become clearer: Connection matters.
Connection to ourselves.
Connection to each other.
Connection to community.
Connection to place.
And one of the ways we maintain those connections is through story.
That’s why we created the KŪ Digital Moʻolelo Preservation Initiative — an effort to record, preserve, and share the stories of our community so they remain accessible to the generations who come after us. Our first goal is to document 50 moʻolelo over the next year through recorded conversations, oral histories, photographs, and digital archiving.
Stories from kūpuna. Families. Community members. People in Hawaiʻi and throughout the diaspora. Not only the big historical moments. The everyday stories, too.
Because sometimes the things that seem ordinary today become the things another generation wishes they could hear again. We’re also proud to share that the KŪ Digital Moʻolelo Preservation Initiative is now a fiscally sponsored project of Independent Arts and Media (IAM), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
That means we can begin building this work with greater accountability, transparency, and community support. But this is only the beginning. Over the coming weeks, we’ll share more about what we’re building, why we believe this work matters, and how you can be part of it.
For now, we simply wanted you to know that it has begun. Stories connect us to where we come from. Preserving them helps that connection continue.
Mahalo for being here.
KŪ Project
Connection matters.
