Lehia Apana

Co-Founder, Polipoli Farms - Wailuku, HI

Lehia Apana is a Native Hawaiian storyteller and co-founder of Polipoli Farms, a regenerative farm and food forest in Waiehu, Maui. A former journalist, she spent 15 years telling other people’s stories. It wasn’t until she began growing food that she discovered her own.

In 2020, Apana and her husband, Brad Bayless, left their careers to restore an overgrown parcel of aina in the heart of Na Wai Eha or “The Four Great Waters.” This region was once famous for its abundant loi kalo, which are the flooded terraces used to grow the Hawaiian staple crop of taro.

While clearing dense thickets of invasive species, the couple uncovered ancient loi kalo and other archeological features that revealed the area’s long history as a thriving food system. Inspired by ike kupuna (ancestral wisdom), they began cultivating plants with deep cultural roots including mamaki, ulu, maia, and uhaloa.

Today, Polipoli Farms transforms these plants into nourishing value-added products—including their signature mamaki and ulu tea—which are sold online and in stores, restaurants, and hotels across Hawaii.

For Lehia Apana, food isn’t just something we eat—it’s a way to remember where we come from. Farming has given her a practical, hands-on way to reconnect with her culture and share it with others. Polipoli Farms has been featured by Cooking Hawaiian Style, Hawaii International Film Festival, Outside Hawaii, Hawaii Public Radio, and Pacific Business News, which named the business one of eight “Hawaiʻi Startups to Watch” in 2024.