Help Bring Lehua and the Loʻi to Life 🌺

Aloha kākou,

My name is Molly Noelani Mamaril, and I’m excited to share a passion project that has been a few years in the making: Lehua and the Loʻi, a children’s book about aloha ʻāina, farming, and finding your way home. The story is set at Waipā Foundation on Kauaʻi’s North Shore.

Coming-of-Age through Aloha ʻĀina 🌱

The book idea began during my time in the Hawaiʻi Agricultural Leadership Program in 2024. Our cohort visited dozens of farms and agricultural organizations across Hawaiʻi, D.C., and Vermont, and we kept returning to the question: How can we help youth see agriculture as a meaningful and viable career path?

At one point, we thought a children’s book might be one way to start that conversation. Storytelling has a way of communicating across generations, and I couldn’t let the idea go. And as the daughter of librarians, writing a children’s book has always been a dream of mine and now, two years later, that idea has become more real.

Lehua’s Story at Waipā

Lehua and the Loʻi follows Lehua, a young girl growing up on Kauaʻi, as she discovers the loʻi kalo at Waipā. She quickly falls in love with farming, being surrounded by friends and plants, working in the sun, and helping cultivate food for her community.

As she grows older, her curiosity leads her to study botany. Eventually, she returns home to Hawaiʻi, where she blossoms into both a farmer and community leader. At its heart, the story is a coming of age journey through aloha ʻāina. My hope is that this book helps keiki understand where their food comes from, connect with Hawaiʻi’s agricultural heritage, and see agriculture as a meaningful way to build a life here at home.

Creating the Visual Story ☀️

I’m thrilled to be working with Lily Māhealani Mitchell, a talented Native Hawaiian artist based in London, who is bringing vibrancy, creativity, and personality to the illustrations. Check out Lily's portfolio here.

Time to Print! 📚

We’ve already raised the funds to cover illustrations and book design, so mahalo nui to everyone who has helped that come to fruition.

Now we’re raising $3,500 toward the costs of printing and bringing approximately 250 to 350 hardcover and paperback copies to Hawaiʻi.

We’re working to make the most of every dollar raised. If we’re able to reduce printing or shipping costs, we’ll use those savings to print even more books and share the story with more keiki .

Ways to Support

$25 — Plant a Seed
$50 — Help the Story Grow
$100 — Share the Story — hardcover included
$500+ — Champion the Book — hardcover + paperback included, with acknowledgment in the book (dependent on print order timing)

Launching the Story 🌺

Our goal is to launch Lehua and the Loʻi at the Hawaiʻi Agricultural Conference this November, with hopes of celebrating the book with a community release at Waipā in Spring 2027.

A portion of proceeds from 2026 book sales will be given to Waipā Foundation, the Agricultural Leadership Foundation of Hawaiʻi, and other agricultural nonprofits to help sustain their work.

Mahalo nui for your consideration and for helping this story take root!

Molly - Author

Questions? Please email mollymamaril@gmail.com

Lehua and the Loʻi - Waipā Children's Book Project

Support this coming-of-age story of aloha ʻāina and farming

Team Members