KAILUA-KONA — Live and learn. Be successful while retaining cultural authenticity and identity.
These are the principles of the pilot cultural business internship program created by Taimane Kaopua and Leina’ala Fruean for employees at their business, Island Breeze, a Hawaii Island production company.
The internship began in July, and since then, 10 employees have engaged in hands-on learning experiences coordinating events and networking with members of the business community across the island.
The internship focuses on real-world application of communication, budgetary and managerial skills primarily in the context of event planning and staging, while also remaining focused on the maintenance of traditional Polynesian values and identity as integral components of business practice.
“The whole goal is to focus on mentoring and raising up the next generation,” said Kaopua, managing director of Island Breeze. “It’s for them to understand how as young, indigenous people they can be in the sphere of business and still be comfortable with who they are culturally. Core values that have to do with aloha and hospitality and ohana, we are weaving all of these things into this school, teaching that culture is really key to who you are in the work place.”
Moa Noble, 33, is from New Zealand and of Polynesian descent. He began working with Island Breeze as a dancer in 2011 on a part-time basis and also works construction during the day.
Noble hopes to soon undertake a business venture of his own, eyeing coffee distribution as an area with significant market potential. Although he has some college experience, he recognized his business acumen was lacking. That made the internship opportunity a perfect fit.
“Part of the decision was to educate myself more on the business side of things,” Noble said. “A lot of people who go into business, whether they have a business education or not, as long as they know the processes, they can get into it.”
Noble added that as a Polynesian, the unique, integrated concept of “Kanakanomics” adds a layer to the internship he can appreciate.
“There was an economy thriving in Hawaii, and the riches and the resources, it all started through the earth,” Noble said. “The (concept) is deeper than that, but it’s just kind of about the values they had back then that can still be applied today.”
The two-year internship program involves weekly seminars with local entrepreneurs, community leaders and other professionals, who function as teachers of sorts. The interns also meet one Saturday per month.
Two recent guest educators were Lee Ann Heely and Ellen Cunningham, economic development specialists with the Hawaii County Department of Research and Development. Heely and Cunningham recently helped start an entrepreneurship program cohort through the department’s business resource center, making their involvement with the internship a natural fit.
“Interns want to understand how to take an idea and apply the lessons learned in running and expanding a business, but there are some basic fundamentals that are part of that formula of success,” Heely said. “There is a kuleana we have to share information, to practice what we know to be true, whether it is the spirit of aloha or the act of malama — taking care of what we have — and to tell that through a story in a business model such as Island Breeze and what they offer.”
Between seminars and work sessions, interns are given assignments and projects to round out a highly personal, hands-on educational experience.
For example, they will organize and run the Heroes of Hawaii Festival, staged for Ironman participants and their families, and share the Hawaiian culture with visitors from across the globe through the lens of important historical figures like Queen Liliuokalani.
Noble enjoys the networking aspect of the internship, as the real-world environments in which it occurs create an authenticity he believes will prove valuable in the future.
But he said the classroom structure is attractive as well, as interactions with teachers are tantamount to a one-on-one experience, as are sessions with “coaches” like Kaopua and Fruean, who mentor interns throughout the process.
“I like the dynamic,” Noble said. “I’m not scared to stop the tutor and say, ‘I don’t understand,’ and ask for more information.”
The cultural business internship program is connected to the Pacific Legacy Institute under the nonprofit wing of the company called the Island Breeze Ministry.
The entire program is connected to the University of Nations. Interns who finish will receive certificates of completion, but if they have enough transferable college credits, as Noble does, the internship can actually contribute to an A.A. or a B.A. degree from the university.
The internship is currently limited to employees only. Kaopua said the program’s capacity is up to 20 students, however, and when the second class begins work in May of 2018, it will be open to anyone who wishes to apply.
Kaopua and Fruean are also considering adding to the initial cohort in January, but that decision has yet to be finalized. Those interested in more information can contact Island Breeze at 329-8111.
“This is something that has been on our hearts for many many years, and it was just the right time to launch it,” Kaopua said. “Our goal is that we would have invested and mentored these young people so they can be strong community leaders … and that they would then become mentors to other young, indigenous people.”