MEANING & ORIGIN

MEANING & ORIGIN

In the Hawaiian language, "Pōhaku Pono" roughly translates to "stones of righteousness."

"Pōhaku" literally means "rock" or "stone," However, like many words in the Hawaiian language, it can also have a more abstract meaning. The word can also be used to imply strength, stability, and fortitude.

"Pono" is a more complex word. It is often translated as "righteousness" but it is actually more of a philosophical concept that is difficult to capture with a single English word. It has a deep meaning which encompasses numerous ideas and concepts.

"Pono" refers to virtue and moral propriety. It connotes balance and harmony, especially in relation to other people and to the land. It is the embodiment of what is right and just. "Pono" is the way things are meant to be. "Pono" is what is objectively and inarguably "right."

Thus, while "Pōhaku Pono" can be thought of as meaning "stones of righteousness," it has a much deeper meaning, especially in the context of our jewelry's origin story and its ongoing mission.

In the Hawaiian language, context is essential for proper understanding of meaning. With this in mind, allow me to share with you the context in which the name "Pōhaku Pono" should be interpreted.

2023 MAUI FIRE

In August of 2023, a hurricane moving through the Pacific barely missed the Hawaiian islands. Recent drought, dry vegetation, fallen power lines, and a number of other contributing factors resulted in a large fire. The strong winds from the passing hurricane fanned the flames resulting in an enormous conflaguration which consumed the entire town of Lahaina. The fire spread to several neighboring regions, burning everything to the ground. Many people, unable to escape the flames, were forced to jump into the ocean to survive. Others died of asphyxiation and many were incinerated so completely that not even their bones remained.

Nearly 5000 homes and businesses were destroyed. While the State released an official death toll of about 100 people, many believe that many hundreds, possibly close to a thousand lives were actually lost. Even with this under-reporting of deaths, the Maui Fire was the deadliest fire in America since 1910 and ranks as the fifth deadliest fire in all of recorded U.S. History.

Thousands of survivors were left homeless, and all of the local jobs disappeared along with the homes and businesses. In addition to being newly homeless, people had no income and there was no work available for them. It was virtually impossible for the survivors to get back on their feet to rebuild their lives.

To make matters worse, there was already a severe housing crisis across the state, and especially in Maui. The 2022 Census reported about 70,000 homes on the island of Maui. At the time of the fire, then Governor Josh Green reported that 27,000 of the homes that remained were being used as short term rental units, also known as "Airbnb's." This statistic does not count unoccupied "vacation homes" owned by nonresidents from the continental US and from other nations.

Because of this, available rentals were virtually non-existant and the increased demand drove rental prices through the roof with normal single family houses renting for as high as $15,000 per month and simple 2 bedroom apartments going for as much as $8000!

Even if people had money, the people could not find an affordable home to rent. Almost no financial relief was provided by the U.S. Federal Government. For a few months, people were housed in hotels but eventually they were forced to leave and thousands ended up in shelters or camping on the beach.

MY INITIAL ATTEMPT TO HELP

Being born and raised in Hawaii, this tragedy was close to my heart. When the severity of the problem became apparent, I wanted to help, but I was now living thousands of miles away in Northwest Indiana.

In addition to donating what I could to various gofundme pages for families that had lost their homes, I began to aggressively promote those gofundme pages on Facebook and Instagram. In the first few weeks, there was an outpouring of support and I was able to inspire a number of donations raising several thousand dollars for a few families.

However, as the news cycle moved on with war between Israel and Palestine, people seemed to stop caring. For weeks I was unable to generate any more money to support these families.

PōHAKU PONO IS BORN

Around the same time I made a necklace for myself using beads that I had purchased on Amazon. It was made out of lava rock, a stone called tiger's eye, and little discs cut from coconut shells. I had bought the materials years ago and had been planning to make this necklace long before the Maui Fire.

I was really happy with the way it turned out so I posted a picture of it on Facebook. The post quickly earned nearly 100 "likes" along with dozens of comments from friends saying how much they liked it.

When I saw the response, I offered to give that necklace to the first person who would donate $30 to the Maui gofundme that I was pushing at the time. Within 20 minutes a friend donated not $30 but $50, and I gave him the necklace.

Thanks Dan Hart... And congratulations to you as the owner of the very first Pōhaku Pono piece ever made!

Dan's donation was quickly followed by multiple offers to donate to Maui if I would make them a necklace as well. This was the birth of Pōhaku Pono.

I then went on to buy some supplies in bulk and have been making necklaces, bracelets, and earrings ever since. I have not taken a dime for myself and in fact have not even touched any money donated. All of my pieces are done in exchange for donations directly to gofundmes that benefit Hawaii so that no one can question whether or not I am actually doing this for charity.

MOVING FORWARD...

Now that I have some momentum, I will be supporting other Hawaii gofundmes aside from those for Maui Fire vicims. I am giving them to a handful of organizations that do fundraising for Hawaii, and they will be selling them to help support their efforts.

I am also working to get them into a few shops. In exchange for my jewelry, they will make donations to a gofundme that I direct them to. The shop owner will then sell them, keeping a little profit for themselves, but I will not receive any money for any of this. This is all 100% "PONO" on my end.

Eventually I would like to make them to give to Twinkle Borges of Po'ohonua o Wai'anae, an incredibly well-organized homeless encampment on the West Side of O'ahu. I am hoping that I will be able to send her a box every month so that she and her residents can sell them to help with their community expenses.

For more inormation about me and about Pōhaku Pono, take a look at the other links at the top of this page. If you would like to have a piece of my jewelry, or if you would like to help by becoming a distributor, the information is in those links.