Joshua Mahuna

Name Joshua Mahuna

Age 31

Town/Moku Waimea

island Hawaiʻi Island

Social Media Handle

Nominated by Max Mukai

Leadership Category Mālama ʻĀina - Environmental Sustainability

Share with us a little about yourself and what you do.

I am Joshua Mahuna, owner/operator of JC Mahuna Ranch LLC. We are a small ranch located in Waimea on Hawai'i island that produces beef cattle. Currently the majority of our livestock are shipped to mainland to be finished for market sale, but we are working to revamp our operation to keep the beef we produce here in Hawai'i.

Why is the work that you do important to you? The community?

With all the "progress" in today's world it can be so easy to forget the basic things we need to thrive. The simplicity of what we do, taking care of the 'āina that will produce food to nourish our family, friends, and community is of the upmost importance.

Share with us the qualities of leadership you admire and how you express those in your life.

When I think of qualities of a leader one word comes to mind, kāmau. No matter what obstacles are in your path as long as you keep moving forward you will persevere.

Who has inspired you to do the work that you are doing?

My inspiration for ranching comes from the generations before us, I admire the vision they had to enable them to provide for their families for generations to come.

What is one word that describes something you are excited about for the lāhui?

One word that I am excited for the lāhui is Desire, to me it seems that more than ever before our Hawaiian community desires to progress together as one to support each other to regain a foothold in Hawai'i , our home.

What is one word that describes a pressing issue that is facing our lāhui?

To me the most pressing issue we face as a lāhui is losing our homeland to high cost. With Hawai'i's shift in industry to tourism from agriculture we have driven up the cost of living too high for our own people.