Born in the aftermath of the 2023 Maui fires, the Lahaina Community Land Trust was formed with a mission to protect and perpetuate Lahaina, by restoring and caring for its ʻāina and ea through keeping its people home. LCLT is guided solely by the people it serves — from community members who lost homes to those with generational ‘ike of this special place — and works to safeguard Lahaina families from displacement and leverage disaster relief to foster permanent community stability. 

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All of LCLT’s own practices were created with intention to align with ancestral ʻāina stewardship practices, embracing collective kuleana to steward ʻāina for the benefit of future generations, engaging in continuous community consultation and collective governance by Lahaina for Lahaina, and focusing on cultivating waiwai for not only individual ‘ohana, but the entire community. Besides purchasing and building homes on Lahaina lands held in trust by the community, LCLT provides Lahaina homeowners grants to rebuild when insurance falls short, ensuring that ‘ohana can remain in Lahaina. Although the legal details are still in development, our weighted lottery system for homes stewarded by LCLT will give preference to Native Hawaiian and multigenerational kamaʻāina to Lahaina, ‘ohana displaced by the fire, and community members who grew up in Lahaina. Most importantly: All of the protections we place on Lahaina lands are permanent. Our investment must only be used once to protect 'āina for Lahaina's people — forever.