Business Monday: New production company to host Koa Wāhine retreat in Hilo

While in lockdown in Oregon in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Native Hawaiian Ke‘ala Hill created a vision board with images of Hawai‘i, including one of Kumu Lua Michelle Manu.

“I had an old Hawaiian Airlines magazine with Kumu Manu in there,” said Hill, who was born and raised in Kane‘ohe, O‘ahu. “I didn’t know who she was, but there she is in all her glorious warrior poses.

It sparked a desire for Hill, who had been living on the West Coast for more than 20 years, to be grounded in her Hawaiian roots — and to meet Manu, the first and only Woman Knight Commander (Dame) in the Royal Order of Kamehameha I, a 10th-degree Black Belt, ‘Alihikaua (General), and Kumu Po‘okela in the indigenous Hawaiian warrior art of Lua (Kaihewalu and Manu lineages).

Four years ago, Hill moved to the Big Island, where she visited family growing up. She met Manu by purchasing tickets for herself and her daughter to attend a martial arts class the kumu lua was teaching at Hulihe‘e Palace in Kona.

At the class, Hill showed Manu her vision board and they took a selfie together after the class.

That meeting led to Hill and Manu, both 51, teaming up to form Koa Wāhine Productions, a company with the vision to create transformational experiences, media, education and community initiatives that uplift and empower women now and for future generations.

Hill, who has a master’s degree in marketing from Florida-based Full Sail University, is behind the marketing of Manu’s vision to bring Hawaiian cultural practitioners together to share their expertise in supporting Hawaiian women through understanding their health, feminine gifts and identity.

Koa Wāhine Productions will host its first event, the Koa Wāhine Retreat, May 21-24 at the Grand Naniloa Hotel in Hilo, where participants can “rise to their inner koa (warrior) and reclaim personal sovereignty through Hawaiian ancestral practices.”

Hill has owned several businesses in the past where she has consulted with companies to promote events, including Hollywood films like “Sex and the City.” Hill said she put together a fashion show for the movie’s opening.

This is the first time Hill has promoted a retreat.

Koa Wāhine Productions is different from other businesses Hill has run in the past, “because it’s heart-based work.”

As of now, Hill and Manu are the two driving forces behind the production company using their experistise to bring this platform to life. The women have been hosting live Instagram stories over the past few weeks to promote the upcoming retreat.

In describing a wāhine (woman) lua warrior of old, Manu said they weren’t necessarily out on the battlefield.

“They were used surreptitiously,” she explained. “They were open but not obvious. They were entering spaces that the kāne (men) weren’t necessarily able to get into.”

Looking at a modern-day wāhine lua warrior, Manu said women similarly have to blend to maneuver in a system that isn’t always working for them.

Manu’s hope with the retreat and future events is to bolster women in their Hawaiian identities and help the next generation.

“We’re a ripple effect,” she said. “We affect one another greatly when we create an alternate community.”

Hill said: “Our intention is to inspire women and young girls throughout Hawaiʻi and across the diaspora to reconnect with their inner strength, personal sovereignty, and what we call the Koa Wāhine (woman warrior) way of life.”

Hill said the goal of their work at the retreat, as well as in the production company, is to create a space for ancestral wisdom that often remains unseen or undiscussed to be thoughtfully shared and applied in modern life.

“Through the guidance of our kumu founder and other contributing kumu of various sacred traditions, these teachings help people understand identity, responsibility, sacred balance, and the deeper roles wāhine have always held in society,” Hill said. “Much is often said about women as nurturers, which is true and valuable. “Koa Wāhine also highlights the traditional role of wāhine as protectors, leaders, strategists, and carriers of mana.

“By restoring that understanding, we believe this work can contribute to healing, empowerment, and stronger communities for our lāhui and beyond.”

Also presenting at the retreat will be Kumu Kekuhi Kealiʻikanakaʻole, who is founder of Hālau ʻŌhiʻa, a former kumu hula of Hālau o Kekuhi, and an award-winning chanter and educator. She is a cultural leader dedicated to ʻoli as living technology. She also bridges ancestral wisdom, ritual, chant and conscious leadership for kinship, conservation and education.

Future projects from the production company include video and storytelling content, live events, educational gatherings, and collaborative programs designed to celebrate and share ʻike rooted in Kānaka ‘Oiwi matters.

The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority website highlights visiting the state as a “tonic for the mind, body and soul.”

The tourism authority states there are numerous yoga and wellness retreats throughout the islands as well as opportunities to learn traditional Hawaiian arts, such as hula and lei-making, from a cultural practitioner.

A few on Hawai‘i Island include the Hawai‘i Island Retreat in North Kohala, which offers yoga, self-awareness programs, life coaching, and more.

Kūaloli Retreats in Pāhoa offers individual and group retreats, and includes nature-based healing modalities in which people can “heal, remember and reconnect with their passion and creativity.”

“Sovereignty means belonging fully to yourself — your body, energy and choices,” Manu said. “No more shrinking or surrendering your power. A Koa Wahine stands as protector of what is sacred in her life, knowing her worth and guarding it with courage.

“In this container, you will reclaim yourself and learn to protect what you reclaim. Remember who you are. Protect what matters.”

Attendees of the retreat will learn lua (Hawaiian warrior arts), lualomi (warrior massage), ʻoli as embodied relation technology, voice work, pule (prayer), movement, stillness and practical tools for mana manipulation, nervous system health and feminine law.

Participants also will explore warrior sovereignty as both weapon and field, connection with elemental spirits, and integration of combat, healing and relational practices – all held with strict protocols and cultural integrity.

The Koa Wāhine Retreat is intentionally exclusive and application-only, welcoming Kanaka Maoli, kamaʻāina, and women who deeply respect and embrace Hawaiian culture.

Girls ages 12–17 may attend with a legal guardian.

“This is a powerful commitment to your sovereignty and your future self — especially amid the chaos of modern life,” Manu said. “The kāhea (call) has been issued for wāhine ready to move beyond surface-level wellness and rise to the warrior within.”

Click here to request an invitation to the retreat or email koa.wahine.retreats@gmail.com.