Unleashing Potential
About Mo’o Strategies:
Mo’o Strategies is a social enterprise dedicated to systemic change and creating a Hawai’i that is a beacon of hope for the world.
Through partnerships with mission-driven organizations, foundations, and public agencies, Mo’o Strategies helps to unleash the full potential of mankind to create a bright future.
About the name:
Moʻo are guardians. For Hawaiians, moʻo protected fresh water—the most fundamental resource for human life and also what makes our planet an extraordinary place. Without guardians of the most precious of resources, nothing could survive. Wise practice in Hawaiʻi means being reverent to moʻo who protect the source of life.
The term “moʻo” also refers to a series or sequence. We often see moʻo in terms like moʻolelo (story) as many words put together make up a story, and moʻokūauhau (genealogy) as family members collectively make up a lineage. Moʻo Strategies is intended to be a collection of tools, experiences, and resources that together forge a path to a better future.
Moʻo Strategies is both a return to stewardship of precious resources and an action oriented approach to strategic problem solving.
Mo’o Strategies works on only the most difficult, enduring challenges facing the world:
Aloha ‘āina and food security
Justice and equality for indigenous populations
Learning and growth across all ages
Protecting and uplifting vulnerable populations
Community-centered and sustainable economic development
Wellbeing of individuals, families, communities, and ‘āina
By focusing on the root causes of the most nagging problems, Mo’o Strategies believes we can create a more just, equitable, and joyful world. A focus on systems change works means having difficult conversations and doing the hard work to transform the conditions that surround nagging problems. A focus on systemic change makes Mo’o Strategies unique, but this work is not unprecedented. As evidenced by ‘ōlelo no’eau below, Native Hawaiians have long understood the importance of work that focuses on systems change:
Mohala i ka wai ka maka o ka pua. Unfolded by the flowers are the faces of the flowers. Flowers bloom where the conditions are good.