The 2009 graduating class of Ke Ana La`ahana is comprised of strong individuals who believe their opinions matter. Meeting with them to collaborate on their class print was surprising and rewarding. The students sat on the rocks and observed the currents and the tide at Puhi Bay, reflecting on how the movement on the surface illustrates their own lives. The receding tide is a metaphor for their leaving Keaukaha, and the incoming tide symbolizes their return home to nurture with their new-found knowledge. One of the boys provided us with an `ohe kapala design, "Ke Ahi". He described the class of 2009 as a school of ahi. They moved together, ate together and defended one another. That movement, like the fish in the ocean, was characteristic of their personalities. We combined the `ohe kapala along with a current motif. The simple rendition of Keaukaha pays honor to their homeland, `aina hanau, `aina pulapula.

The Punahoa is an updated version of the Oe coin purse. It measures in just a smidge bigger at 5.38" long X 4" tall and features top stitching along the edges as well as a streamlined zippered closure. Toss in the essentials: credit cards, a few dollar bills, perhaps some change for the meter or that tube of lipstick! Great for brightening up your purse ... and your day. Punahoa is a small `ahupua`a that runs from Hilo bay front to Kuku`au `ili.