With this support, I hope to grow this skill, discipline, relationship and continuity.
Making a net requires thousands of repeated and intentional movements. Through this process, I am strengthening patience, consistency, and care. These are not abstract outcomes. They show up in how I make, how I fish, and how I take care of the tools that I rely on.
Through mentorship with Chuck Leslie, I will deepen my understanding of technique, pacing, and long-term stewardship. Learning alongside someone who has maintained a working net for over 50 years reinforces that this practice is not about completion, but about sustaining something over time. This is the standard I am working toward.
I also expect to strengthen my understanding of materials through both contemporary and natural fibers. By planting, gathering and processing fibers in small ways, I will begin to understand how material, place, and function are connected. This knowledge supports a shift away from dependency on purchased materials and toward a more grounded, place-based practice.
The application of this learning will happen through continuedm everyday use. I will build and repair nets, fish with them, and refine my technique through repetition. Over time, this practice becomes something I can share in informal, hands-on ways with others in my ʻohana and community.
The people this work will reach are those already close to me: family members, keiki and community members in Waimānalo who are curious about net making but have not had access to learn. I will not approach this as formal instruction, but as shared practice. Sitting together, tying knots, and learning through doing. This is how this knowledge has always moved.
There is already strong interest. When I sit and make nets, it brings forward stories. People talk about family members who once made nets, fishing practices that have faded, and the desire to learn what was not passed down. This project helps create the conditions for those conversations to turn into action.
In terms of Indigenous knowledge sharing, this work contributes by keeping ʻike in motion without extracting it from its context. Learning is grounded in relationship, guided by kūpuna, and carried forward through use. It is not about documenting for distribution, but about embodying and practicing knowledge in ways that are responsible and sustainable.
Longer term, this project builds toward more advanced practices, including the goal of learning to make ʻōpelu nets. There are very few practitioners who carry this knowledge today. Strengthening foundational skills now is necessary to reach that level with integrity.
What will grow is a practice that is lived, shared, and sustained. Not owned, but carried.
