Legislator says ‘traditional Hawaiian hale’ not ‘grass shacks’
ASSOCIATED PRESS
This historic Robert Louis Stevenson grass hut was restored on the Salvation Army’s Waioli grounds in Manoa.
State Sen. Suzanne Chun Oakland wants to tap “the wisdom of the Hawaiian people” to come up with environmentally friendly and low-cost ways to house some of Hawaii’s homeless, possibly in rural, agricultural areas.
As the islands deal with the highest per capita rate of homelessness in the country, the idea to borrow from traditional island structures called kau hale came from a community member who serves on the informal Housing and Homeless Task Force, which has been meeting monthly for five years and has helped develop housing and homeless legislation each year, said Chun Oakland (D, Downtown-Nuuanu-Liliha) on Tuesday.
“The idea is to really look at or use the wisdom of the Hawaiian people,” she said. “I mean, they built beautiful homes in the past, very eco-friendly. … I think it would add a lot of charm back into our community. But the main thing is that there are materials here that you can use for free; there is no cost except you building it. So, it’s having the Hawaiian traditional expertise to kind of provide guidance.”
In media reports Monday, Chun Oakland was quoted as saying she wanted to permit construction of “grass shacks” — a term she did not use and considers “demeaning” to Hawaii’s host culture.
Instead, Chun Oakland told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that she is advocating for construction of a “traditional Hawaiian hale.”
“It’s a home that Hawaiian people were building for many generations,” she said. “You want something that’s beautiful. I don’t know what people are thinking when they say ‘grass shacks,’ so to describe it that way may connote more negativity than what we’re envisioning, which is actually a beautiful, charming, traditional Hawaiian home.”
A bill that might be introduced this legislative session would be “permissive,” Chun Oakland said. “It would say that the state or county may permit traditional hale to be built or constructed. … It is something I think we have to talk about and see where it would be appropriate.”
Chun Oakland said she has been talking about the concept with the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands for about three years.
In a statement Tuesday she said the cultural importance of “traditional Hawaiian hale … should not be diminished by referring to it as a ‘thatched hut’ or ‘grass shack.’ This concept as a housing solution is being discussed, may result in legislation and is part of a large array of proposals being considered for this legislative session. … Just as the (Housing and Homeless) task force represents a wide range of business, nonprofit, government, social services and faith-based advocates for housing and homelessness, our thought process should also be broad and out-of-the-box in order to develop solutions to address the issue of housing as well as assist those who need help.”
The idea to allow construction that borrows from the past to help alleviate a modern problem received tentative support from some tourism officials.
Rick Egged, president of the Waikiki Improvement Association, said Tuesday, “As a community we are extremely short of housing. We have a huge housing deficiency. If Sen. Chun Oakland is trying to get creative to address that deficiency, whatever she proposes should be reviewed and given any credence it merits, rather than dismissed out of hand.”
In a statement, Mufi Hannemann, president and CEO of the Hawaii Lodging &Tourism Association, acknowledged “the cultural sensitivity and rationale for proposing alternative housing solutions for the homeless; it’s certainly not a traditional, mainstream idea. For this specific proposal to work, the housing will have to fit its environment, be acceptable to the community, have the necessary utilities, sanitation and safety measures in place and respect the dignity of the people who’ll live there — certainly a daunting challenge.”
But Hannemann said, “From a tourism perspective, it may reinforce a misperception and stereotype held by some that people in Hawaii only live in grass shacks.”
108 responses to “Legislator says ‘traditional Hawaiian hale’ not ‘grass shacks’”
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I want to go back to my little grass shack
In Kealakekua, Hawaiʻi
I want to be with all the kanes and wahines
That I used to know long ago
I can hear the old guitars playing
On the beach at Hōnaunau
I can hear the old Hawaiians saying
Komo mai no kāua i ka hale welakahao
It won’t be long till my ship will be sailing
Back to Kona
A grand old place
That’s always fair to see, you’re telling me
I’m just a little Hawaiian
A homesick island boy
I want to go back to my fish and poi
I want to go back to my little grass shack
In Kealakekua, Hawai`i
Where the humuhumunukunukuâpua`a
Go swimming by
Boy, that one blew up in Suzanne’s face, didn’t it. (BTW: My son sang that way back when he was a member of the Honolulu Boy Choir.)
Cellodad. Those were the good old days before Mufi and Caldwell.
Singing Happy Birthday is a violation of copyrights.
What is wrong with a tent, the type the military use for U.S. soldiers? Grass shack made Fox news. Appears we are welcoming homeless, let them experience being Hawaiian/Polynesian.
our priorities are misplaced here.
They already tried dat one cuz! Military tent city across from Makaha beach back in hanabata days! The homies said they felt like they where POW’s! LOL!
They’re cooler with good ventilation. Cheap to repair and maintain.
Gilligan’s Island
Hawaii is the giggle island. Laughing stock to the world.
“Hawaii” is located in Oceania and composed entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean.
Thanks for half an answer.
How the hell do you know that we are the laughing stock to the world. This is just your own personal isolated thoughts and prejudices talking.
…808. I guess that you are content with our state of our crumbling roads, infrastructure, Homelessness. Over taxation. No lottery. Etc. in Hawaii nei?
Take your meds Mike.
You mean my gummy bear vitamin, meds?
State Sen. Suzanne Chun Oakland you are drinking too much punch. Although the cost to build the hale’s is low. The belief that you expect people to come live there is not only foolish but is borderline ridiculous. WOW is all I can think of.
Mufi’s rail station should be a grass shack.
Let them build the Hale’s under the elevated rail, problem solved.
Hale is house in Hawaiian.
Great idea….
Chun Oakland seems to be suggesting that Hawaiians are a primitive people who wouldn’t mind living in a grass shack with a dirt floor, no sewage system, no toilet, no running water, no electricity, no refrigeration, no modern cooking system, and no proper shelter from storms, because that is their culture and those primitive conditions should be sufficient for Hawaiians. Apparently Asians and whites need modern homes with all the modern amenities, but Hawaiians are just fine living in the dirt. This looks very racist.
Are you suggesting the pictured grass shack does would not be better than the blue tarp or cardboard boxes that many Hawaii homeless currently use as shelter? Of course it would be an upgrade. In this setup, there are sure to be communal showers, bathrooms and maybe a kitchen.
I think the goal is to encourage the homeless to re-enter society as a self-sufficient contributing members. Putting them up in well-appointed housing accommodations (i.e., Housing First) will only set them up for frustration and disappointment when they discover the realities of Hawaii’s tight rental market. The satisfaction for improving themselves (quitting substance abuse and getting a job) should be accompanied by a positive effect in their living situation to encourage this behavior. In the current system, improvement seems to result in the phasing-out of the Housing First or welfare programs, a negative impact.
…8. Reality is that people just don’t know how to save for a rainy day. That’s why they are without a home now. I save even when economic times are good.
No dirt floor. IIRC the traditional hale is built on an elevated rock platform so water does not encroach. The lauhala mats on the floor breath so the soil under them remains dry.
Hawaii is so far away from bringing charm, that I would not even worry about it now.
Just think. No need to install a shower stall. Just shower under the grass thatched roof when it rains.
On traditionally, just jump in the river, or the ocean.
Susanne Chun Oakland says it’s not a “grass shack” but a “traditional Hawaiian hale.” Well, enter the words “traditional Hawaiian hale” in Google and what do you get? That’s right… “grass shack.”
Building a grass shack to conform to building code is not easy or cheap. Ask the public-minded contractor Matt Houar who restored the Robert Louis Stevenson “hale” at the Waioli Tea Room in Manoa. See online Salvation Army article. There’s even a photo of the Hawaii residence of the great American author.
http://www.salvationarmyexpectchange.org/2012/06/25/robert-louis-stevenson-memorial-grass-hut-open-for-visitors-at-the-salvation-army-in-hawaii/
Hawaii could smuggle some beavers to sew the grass.
I’m not going to touch that one! Okay, but the beavers have to be consenting adults.
Beavers might form a labor union here in Hawaii?
Here’s my google link .
http://www.mauimagazine.net/Maui-Magazine/January-February-2007/Home-Thatched-Home/index.php?cparticle=1&siarticle=0#artanc
Sure looks like a grass shack to me. Maybe Suzanne and others are looking at the wrong picture.
This reminds me of when Jeremy Harris said that the Natatorium is not a swimming pool.
Huge bathtub?
How would electricity, lighting, running water, sewage, security, sanitation, privacy, furniture, etc., not to mention severe weather, fit into this picture?
Just as much privacy as being on Facebook.
probably a lot of privacy in the nearby forest, But today there might be an isolated communal dwelling for temporary use.
Did the ancient Hawaiians and Polynesians have al of that? Why should those have not contributed to society. In the old days they worked together. They contibuted. These homeless should get off their rears and build them themselves.
Get the homeless to wear traditional Polynesian garb and pose for pictures for tourists.
great idea. maybe they can self-support themselves.
Homeless should be wearing a orange jump suit.
..sei. Only when they have a BMI of less than 25? Nasty to look at, otherwise.
Who cares. What an idiotic idea. As I said before do you think these Hale’s can withstand the storms that are now on the increase near the Islands? These are modern day times with a world whose landscape is changing. Who’s will maintain them? Who will fit the cost of the maintenance? Tax payers? How about you political idiots maintain them.
I’ll be hiding under the freeway overpass when it storms.
I’m sure the grass will just blow away. Can throw a tarp over until repairs can be made.
Really ? How about mobile homes or using storage containers. I mean there are many ways to get CHEAP housing but this state is CLUELESS and BOUGHT by the unions !!!
What union makes a grass shack?
Thatchers Local 425
Margaret?
PROOF…STUPIDITY can be found amongst “Lawyers” as well….*sigh*
I would not mind be as stupid for the same pay as them.
Senator Chun-Oakland walked straight into a swinging door with her “unintended” “grass shack” implied reference. “Traditonal Hawaiian hale” to most is grass shack. That’s what I got from fellow students in Pullman Washington, 57 years ago. “Do you still live in grass shacks?”
Her “clarification” is just a belated attempt at backtracking on the “unintended” imagery she conjured up for SA’s illustrious readership. Bawhahaha – couldn’t happen to a nicer banana.
Bananas are only good for four hours.
Susanne why don’t you pass something that say all construction should be in line with the way you suggest building for the homeless?? You ‘re only looking for attention. What kind of toilets did they have before? W should do away withe cars also cause the ancient Hawaiians surely did not have cars. Shall I go on?? May be you have been a politician toooo long you mind is warpped
This just seems like a waste of resources. Sure it’s “traditional” but that itself doesn’t mean it makes sense in this day and age. What about the labor? How many people will they be able to house vs other structures occupying the same land area? How sturdy are these shelters? We have real problems here and common sense and being fiscally responsible, not nostalgia and “tradition” is the way to deal with them.
Are you suggesting another million dollar task force study to tell us what we already know?
Suzanne is not the person she once was. That said, if a Hale is needed for short-term living and if it helps, let it be one tool to fight home homelessness. Reality is that our monopoly party out here has failed miserably and needs some real political competition.
I never knew that a politician would even change his or her bias?
Let the homeless have fun with a tube TV, that takes some three minutes to warm up.
Chun-Okland must be getting desperate with getting low income housing to be built. Could be the chance of that happening is no greater than a snowball’s chance in hell.
Pass Hoopili and Koa Ridge building permits ASAP.
The idea sprung for a Kawa ceremony attended by some legislator.
Is she going to install electricity, water and sewer? They were grass shacks, quit being so right justly PC.
One thing leads to another. Next Pandora ‘ s Box will be air conditioning, microwave oven, laundry room, two car garage, and a swimming pool.
And a partridge in a pear tree.
I just hope people in her district remember this when she’s up for reelection.
They never do. That’s why the same lolos keep getting re-elected.
You don’t have wait too long you’ll get your chance to re-elect polo’s later this year!
I only remember the free hot dogs at a political campaign.
as long as they set aside some affordable grass shacks.
Start planting the grass that you will supply on your own.
Further down the rabbit hole we fall!
Grass shack, thatched hut, pili domicile whatevah the P.C. popo are out
Oh, and Mufi? he chimed in? :-O
Another bad idea from the house of bad ideas.
Hope it remains in the idea stage.
Have the homeless Pacific Islanders and Hawaiians build them. No labor cost then. Maybe they would respect what they live in that way.
You are being so seamless by agreeing. Are you giving the city permission to raise our property taxes?
Ms Chun’s heart was in the right place but her head was not?
Yeah. A CEO once told me that we do business with our brain, and not our heart.
Providing the homeless with grass shack,accommodations will not alleviate their status as it suggest that the old ways of living is superior to contemporary accommodations. Further it encourage the individuals into remaining on the entitlement role. The incentive appears to be counter to encouraging the homeless to improve their lot. It also suggest the status quo.
Same reason why my puppies will never run away.
I think grass shacks are lovely and for sure are a legal way to practice native Hawaiian culture and most likely preferable to sleeping with no shelter at all. Senator Chun Oakland is to be commended for advocating for the box solutions.
Many ideas are “lovely” as you say, but we live in a real world with real issues. Aside from the many good points raised by the other posters above (having the structures stand up to the elements, infrastructure such as water and sewer needs) do you actually think that any insurance company will provide a homeowner’s policy for these shacks (yes, they’re shacks even if you call them something else)? Or are we to exempt requiring that they have insurance? Any insurance people out there want to comment on that?
The last word in any project is funding it.
The homeless have TENTS. Why would they want to BUILD grass shacks. You want “box solutions”, they can use large cardboard boxes like in Tijuana, Mexico and Los Angeles.
sailfish1. Why not just give them a free pine box called a casket.
Why not build Katrina Cottages? They are tiny homes designed and built for the folks who were displaced by the hurricane, and are sold as kits. Very inexpensive but would still meet building codes.
Cottages will be the first to be airborne in the next storm.
Is this REALLY going to become a “thing”??
If the homeless can build the “grass shacks”, let them build them. I don’t think the homeless want to do anything that resembles work – they would prefer to live in their tents. This Suzanne Chun is a total idi*ot for suggesting such nonsense. I hope her constituents realize what kind of waste-of-time Senator they elected.
These new sign of the times, we cannot be having the tenant building their own dwelling. That would constitute being an employee with the same labor laws of being paid.
WOW…going to have to total ban on fireworks. It will take only one aerial firework to set it off up in flames. Will these shelters meet fire code?
Poor little piggies (er..homeless people), The big bad wolf is going to huff and puff and blow thoses houses…………Well they don’t have homes anyway. Nice going Chun Oakland!Why didn’t someone think of this one before?
You can all it what you like but it is still a grass shack.
Although the initial cost of a hale might be low, the maintenance and upkeep would be ridiculous. When you build any type of public housing, you need to use hardy, durable materials. The other thing is that Honolulu suffers from a lack of available land for public housing. We don’t have the land for sprawling rows of grass shacks. We need to go vertical to be able to fit the required number of units. Medium to high rise buildings with 200 square foot units would be ideal. The units are too small (although they’re larger than your average tent) to be permanent housing but it at least gets the families (especially the children) off the streets.
She got her idea off of INSTAGRAM. ;(
Two real reasons why Hawaiians stopped living in traditional grass houses:
Centipedes
Scorpions
Mosquitoes didn’t help either. All post-contact pests brought in on some of the early western sailing ships.
JimMee can add because the homeless have found greener grass with a free handout from the government, than living in some grass s
Probably why modern Hawaiians need cats and geckos living with them
Interesting to hear Mufi trying to turn mud into gold with his smooth answers.
Rather a good and thoughtful answer.
Hawaiian grass shack is actually a nice term. Bring back the old style traditional hale building. Nothing is wrong. Someone actually came up with a good and simple idea that would help solve our homeless problem. Just make sure they know how to let go of their junk, and become more transient kind of living. Don’t be a hoarder. #Kaaihue4Mayor
So give the homeless land area and let them find “materials here that you can use for free” and let them build their “traditional Hawaiian hale”. I firmly believe the homeless will scream “WHAT, you want us to live in a grass shack and you want us to build it ourselves?” They already have tents and will live in that tent than to do any kind of work.
chun-oakland must be on drugs….
Suzanne Chun Oakland, please get yourself some psychiatric help. Maybe you should stay in one of those during hurricane season to try it out.
Why doesn’t Sen. Chun Oakland try living in a hale for a year?
Might not be a bad idea. Another really good idea, is impeaching Hawaii’s Governor Ige. An embarassment to Hawaii and to our Nation.