Phase 4: Solutions
Visitor Journey
Mapping the visitor journey showed how safety and identity can come together. Local cultural leaders could serve as hybrid ranger-guides, living in the parks (like they do at National Parks) and watching over visitors. Their presence makes people feel safe while also sharing knowledge and culture. The mapped journey also highlights important branded moments and touchpoints.
Positioning Statement
Kaua‘i State Parks is the world’s first public park system where cultural stewards guide guests through sacred landscapes, redefining what tourism can be.
Ambition
By 2030, Kaua‘i State Parks will be recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site destination.
This will help elevate global understanding and appreciation of Hawaiian culture.
Funding Opportunities
This pilot is designed to attract funding from climate-focused, sustainability, and regenerative food system grants by positioning cultural restoration as a path to measurable environmental and community resilience. As a nonprofit-led prototype, the model enables scalable, testable iterations supported by foundation grants, public-private partnerships, and experience-based revenue. Funders aren’t just backing a park. They are investing in a regenerative future for Kaua‘i. The organizations shown here represent the types of partners we expect to approach for funding.
The Foundation
The Aloha ʻĀina Kaua‘i Parks Foundation is a proposed nonprofit restoring Kaua‘i’s parks as sacred cultural spaces. Locally led and rooted in community values, it will fill a gaps in state management through cultural stewardship, regenerative tourism, and meaningful visitor experiences, building funding tied to environmental impact, cultural restoration, and community resilience.
Seal of care: Awarded by cultural, ecological, and civic leaders, this mark signals safety, kuleana (responsibility), and ancestral permission to enter. It protects the land, builds trust, and ensures decisions are guided by respected practitioners and educators.
