Kula were the flat and sloping lands between the uka and the kai. In the kula region, grasslands were transformed to agricultural fields where Many useful products were made from plants growing in the kula area.
The regions of the ahupua‘a are linked by wai (water). Falling from the heavens into uka, wai is a gift from the gods. It falls freely as majestic waterfalls into kahawai (streams) in the kula region of the ahupua‘a. Wai symbolizes bounty for Hawaiians because it gives life to all living things, and it is the foundation for agriculture and aquaculture. Wai is of such importance that the Hawaiian word for wealth and prosperity is waiwai. Hawaiians were master farmers and engineers, crafting intricate ‘auwai (irrigation ditch) systems to irrigate their lo‘i kalo (taro patches). ‘Auwai is connected to a stream or spring, funneling water to loʻi kalo or loko iʻa. Kalo, the main food staple for early Hawaiians, is considered the progenitor of the Hawaiian race and serves as a spiritual connection between Hawaiians and nature.
Around the taro patches and along the streams, Hawaiians grew useful plants such as mai‘a (banana), ‘ulu (breadfruit), kï (ti), and kö (sugar cane). They harvested freshwater animals, such as ‘o‘opu (goby fish), ‘öpae (shrimp), and hïhïwai (freshwater snails), that thrived in the clear, cool, flowing streams. Ae‘o (Hawaiian stilts), ‘ülili (wandering tattlers), and ‘alae ‘ula (Hawaiian moorhens) also flocked near the kahawai and in taro patches to feast on shellfish and small fish.
Hawaiians grew ‘uala (sweet potato) and tended a variety of plants that were useful for everyday needs. They gathered kukui nuts for oil and to make into lights. They grew ‘ohe (bamboo), which they crafted into fishing poles and stamps to add decorative patterns for their kapa (bark cloth). Walking through this region in old Hawai‘i, one would hear the rhythmic pounding of kapa beaters as women beat the inner bark of the wauke (paper mulberry) plant to make their cloth. It took a lot of time for women to make the finest, softest, and most durable kapa, which was used for clothing, bed sheets, and in religious ceremonies. Hawaiian kapa was valued so much, that it was a form of wealth and Hawaiians reserved their best for tributes to their ali‘i. Women were also skilled in the art of weaving fine mats, baskets, fans, pillows, and canoe sails from lau hala (pandanus leaves).