Imu Mea ʻAi Food Tour: Build a Hawaiian Underground Oven Near Pahoa

The kalua pork you eat at the end of this tour was cooked in an oven the previous day’s group dug by hand. The imu you build today feeds the group that shows up tomorrow. That reciprocity is the structure of the whole afternoon, and it is why this runs nothing like a hotel luau.

There is no stage, no hula, no slack key guitar. The only music is the group’s own voices reciting the oli that founder Iopa Maunakea teaches when you arrive. From there you dig: a pit about four feet by four feet in the red-brown dirt, working shoulder to shoulder with locals and the Men of PAʻA. You pass and stack the firewood, kiawe that burns hot and fast, ʻōhiʻa that burns long and slow, then lay the pohaku, the lava rocks that hold the heat through the night.

ayers of banana and ti leaves seal in the steam before the imu is buried for the slow cook.

Why digging a pit is the part people remember

The labor is the experience, not a chore tacked onto it. Between steps the group breaks under the tent for water and refreshments while Maunakea tells stories about the land and Hawaiian history. His mother sometimes joins and tells her own. Then the afternoon turns: you dismantle yesterday’s imu, lifting away the hot stones, burlap, and ti leaves to uncover the feast cooked underneath. You eat ʻohana-style. The kalua pork is the standout, alongside imu-cooked chicken, taro, sweet potato, and vegetables.

For $150 adult, $75 for teens 13 to 17, and free for children 12 and under, you get a 4 hours afternoon that includes the meal and hands-on instruction from hosts the reviews name by first name: Kapoli, Carlos, Charles, and Maunakea himself. Groups are capped at 50, though the public dates we looked at ran smaller. Closed-toe shoes are required, and bring sun cover and water, because you dig and stand on uneven ground in the open. The hands-on work asks you to bend and lift, so this is not the right fit for guests with significant mobility limits, but the hosts keep the physical parts optional.

Pōhaku (lava rock) goes in by hand. The stones hold the fire’s heat that slow-cooks the food underground.

Getting there, and what the spot looks like

The drive is about 30 minutes south of Hilo, off the highway and down progressively smaller roads until a white tent over a gravel patch tells you that you have arrived. This is not a resort. Run by a Native Hawaiian nonprofit that supports Hawaiian men reintegrating after incarceration or addiction, the tour puts tourism dollars directly into that community, and it has drawn editorial attention beyond the island: Seattle Met ran a first-person feature on it in late 2025.

We think this is the closest a visitor can get to a real imu without being invited to a family gathering, and the review record backs that up: 123 of 125 ratings are five stars, with the hosts and the kalua pork named again and again.

We curate this because it is the rare food experience where you help make the food rather than watch a performance, and the proceeds go directly into a Native Hawaiian nonprofit. It is the strongest fit for families, school groups, work teams, and travelers who want the cultural depth a hotel luau skips. The review record is lopsided: 99/100 reviews are five stars, with the hosts and the kalua pork named over and over. At $150 adult with kids 12 and under free, and a group rate for parties of 10 or more, it is also one of the better-value cultural experiences on the island.

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