Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 33, Number 6, 1 June 2016 — College students build new home for DHHL beneficiaries [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

College students build new home for DHHL beneficiaries

By Ka Wai Ola staff The Suganuma 'ohana has a new custom-built home in Keaukaha, thanks to students from Hawai'i Community College. The Suganuma home is the 49th built through the Hawai'i Community College Model Home Program, whieh provides instruction in drafting, welding, carpentry, electrical and landscaping while helping the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands meet its mission of returning beneficiaries to the land. Thanks to the decades-old partnership between DHHL and HawCC, the Suganu-

mas were able to afford a three-bedroom, two-bath home in the Hawaiian homestead community of Keaukaha. The house, whieh cost the family $192,250, includes ener-gy-efficient features, such as a solar water heater system, a four-

kilowatt photovoltaic system and Energy Star qualified appliances. New homeowners Elton "Tui" and Patrieia Suganuma and their son Po'ai attended the dedication for their new home last month. "We didn't think we could afford

it, let alone a home this beautiful," Po'ai said. "If this is what you guys do as students, what you guys do after is going to be something else." HawCC students did more than build the home. The traditional dedication ceremony, called moku ka piko (cutting of the umhilieal cord) was performed by students in the Hawaiian Lifestyles Programat the college. Agriculture students used native plants to landscape the home. Since the Model Home program was launched in 1965, nearly 4,000 students have acquired on-the-job training in drafting, welding, carpentry, electrical, agricultural and diesel mechanics. ■

Sfudenfs from fhe Hawaiian Lifestyles Program at Hawai'i Community College performed a traditional Hawaiian ceremony at the dedication of the Suganuma's new home. - Photos: CourtesyofDHHl

Po'ūi Suganuma