Empowering Maui's Recovery: Our Vision for Mid to Long Term Solutions
The aftermath of the devastating Lāhainā fires has revealed the pressing need for both immediate relief and comprehensive, long-term recovery efforts. Amid the ashes and the heartache, the Regenerative Education Center’s Farmland and SeaTrees Project emerges as a beacon of hope, offering lasting solutions aimed at rebuilding lives, restoring communities, and ensuring that those who have lost everything can remain on the island and lands they call home.
There are many heroic individuals and organizations already acting in this moment to provide immediate services.
Please consider supporting the relief and recovery efforts throughout the island of Maui such as the Hawaii Community Foundation / Maui Strong Fire Fund, Maui Rapid Response, Maui Fire Disaster Relief Fund, and Hungry Heroes Hawaii.
Maui's ohana spirit has shown strong as community members continue to support each other. SeaTrees has sent financial aid to REC to help establish their Maui Wildfire Recovery Program, an initiative focused on providing resources, recovery, and relief to those impacted by the Maui fires.
In an effort to keep Hawaiian land in Hawaiian hands, the Maui Wildfire Recovery Program’’s commitment extends far beyond the immediate crisis, envisioning a long-term recovery plan that focuses on two pivotal aspects: keeping individuals on the island and restoring their connection to the land.
Part of the Maui Wildfire Recovery Program’s kuleana (responsibility) is to provide the basic necessities including shelter, food, water, and communication resources to those displaced. The program’s primary goal is to offer a solution for those who have lost their homes, enabling them to remain on the island without the need to uproot themselves and leave behind the land they have always known as home.
To achieve this goal, the program will create temporary housing, featuring innovative solutions such as tiny homes complete with power systems, stoves, and solar panels. These dwellings are not only intended as temporary shelter; rather, they are strategically designed to be relocated back to the lands owned by those affected from the fires - enabling those who have lost everything to rebuild their lives and reclaim their connections to the land they own.
Additionally, the program’s objectives will strive to:
- Establish a regenerative relief center that utilizes innovative approaches to aid recovery and reconstruction
- Collaborate with local partners, nonprofits, influencers, and community members to efficiently coordinate relief efforts
- Raise funds and resources to sustain the relief center's operations and support ongoing recovery initiatives
In the face of these tragedies, the Hawaiian community has demonstrated remarkable solidarity and resilience, and the staging ground created by REC and supported by SeaTrees serves as a temporary haven for food, shelter, resources, love and support. We have seen immense Aloha spirit captured as volunteers organize donations to help fellow neighbors and we want to keep that going.
Donate to support the Maui Wildfire Recovery Program today and aid in the revival of this resilient community for not just tomorrow, but the long road ahead.