Meet Jeremiah Magallones Youth President and Khiara Kaleiwahea, Youth Vice President of Hānai Kaiāulu, a sustainability organization rooted in the Waiʻanae community and led by Kumu Michelle Pieper. They’re high schoolers. They’re also the ones standing at the front of the room, presenting grant proposals, coordinating island-wide logistics, and operating industrial shredders that are transforming the way their community thinks about waste, soil, and food.
The organization’s name holds its mission: hānai means “to feed, nourish, or sustain” in Hawaiian. Kaiāulu means “community.” They are feeding community through the land, and feeding the land through community.
Here’s how it works. Neighbors and local businesses drop off clean cardboard at collection sites across the island. Youth leaders like Jeremiah and Khiara run Community Cardboard Shred Days, operating industrial shredders to turn that cardboard into sheet mulch; a material that suppresses weeds, retains moisture, and slowly enriches volcanic soil as it breaks down. That mulch goes directly to local farmers, free of charge. High school youth also collect food scraps from school cafeterias, farmers markets, and community gatherings, processing them into compost that returns to participating farms. And cardboard donors? They receive CSA-style produce boxes filled with fresh, locally grown vegetables in return.
Over 31,000 pounds of cardboard has been shredded, more than 20,000 pounds of food waste diverted from Nanakuli High School’s cafeteria alone, 500+ pounds of food waste redirected monthly, and compost now supporting more than 8 farms. The organization has completed 250 workshops and logged over 5,000 community service hours and has donated cardboard shredders to Westside schools and four organizations on Maui!
This isn’t a program where youth show up to help. They lead. Big Green is proud to back leaders like Jeremiah and Khiara who are creating and operating community-based, culturally relevant, and sustainable solutions for their communities.
