Kamehameha Schools

Fulfilling the Vision of a Princess

Kamehameha Schools is a private, charitable educational trust endowed by the will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, the great-granddaughter and last royal descendant of King Kamehameha I.

During her lifetime, Princess Pauahi witnessed the rapid decline of the Hawaiian population. With that decline came a challenge to preserve the Hawaiian language and culture she held dear.

The princess knew that education would be the key to restoring her people, so in an enduring act of aloha, she left them a precious gift upon her passing – over 375,000 acres of ancestral land. She instructed the trustees of her estate to use the land to educate her people. Today, her endowment supports an educational system that serves thousands of Hawaiian learners in Hawai‘i and across the nation.

Kamehameha Schools’ ancestral lands are primarily agricultural and conservation. About 1,500 acres is commercial property.

Kamehameha Schools is committed to the smart, progressive, and culturally appropriate stewardship of the land and He’eia is a community that lives up to that commitment.

As with all of our commercial projects, it must also effectively support the Kamehameha Schools mission of furthering the well-being of Hawaiian keiki through education so they are able to learn, grow and thrive, and become ‘ōiwi leaders who contribute to their communities – locally and globally.