Our mission
Our piko. Our ʻohana. One Hawaiʻi.
Digital Piko exists to connect the greater Hawaiian community — kamaʻāina at home in the islands and those of us scattered far from them. Wherever you are, your piko is here. Our roots connect us.
Why this matters
Hawaiian families are being priced out of their own ʻāina.
For generations, kānaka maoli and local families have called these islands home. Now Hawaiʻi has the highest cost of living in the United States, and the math no longer works for the people who built this place. Keiki who grew up here graduate, look around, and leave — not because they want to, but because there’s no path that lets them stay. In 2010, 55% of Native Hawaiians still called the islands home. By the 2020 U.S. Census, just 47% did. More of us now live on the continent than at home.
Whole ʻohana — Hawaiians who would be home if they could be — are scattered across the mainland and the world, missing the slack-key on a Friday night, the smell of plumeria after rain, the feel of standing in a place where everyone knows where you’re from.
We can’t fix all of that. We try to do three things, well.
What we do
Fund the bridgeEvery sale funds Hāna Lima Youth Foundation — bridging Hawaiʻi keiki into paid apprenticeships in carpentry, electrical, plumbing, and welding, so they can build a life that lets them stay.
Apparel with rootsWear where you’re from. Every piece carries a little of the islands with you — for kamaʻāina and those who left.
A gathering placeTalk Story and Island Happenings host the conversations and share the cultural pulse of the islands — wherever you are.
About Hāna Lima Youth Foundation
Bridging Hawaiʻi keiki into skilled-trades apprenticeships — so staying home is a choice, not a luxury.
Hawaiʻi already has world-class apprenticeship programs — IBEW Local 1186, Plumbers & Fitters 675, the Hawaiʻi Carpenters Apprenticeship & Training Fund, Laborers 368, ABC Hawaiʻi. Paid, multi-year pathways into journey-level careers that pay enough to raise a family on these islands.
The problem isn’t training. It’s the doorway. Hawaiian high schoolers — especially on Hawaiʻi Island, Waiʻanae, Kaʻū, and Molokaʻi — don’t always know the intake windows, can’t always get to Honolulu for testing, can’t afford the boots and the drug-test fee, and don’t have anyone in their corner once they start. HLYF is the bridge.
Hana lima. Work of the hands. So our keiki can thrive here for generations.
Hāna Lima Youth Foundation is a registered Hawaiʻi 501(c)(3). EIN: 41-2734590. Board seated, bylaws filed, IRS determination letter received.
Wear where you’re from. Fund where they stay.
Every shirt, every hat, every piece is a connection — to home, to ʻohana, and to the keiki who could thrive in the trades if someone opens the door.
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