Kani ka ʻōpala: how can garbage Sing?

Kani ka ʻōpala is an illustrated children’s book (University of Hawaiʻi Press, fall 2025) that follows a father and daughter on a scavenger hunt through Ala Moana Beach Park’s Magic Island. While playing a conversational “Question Game,” the pair collects trash, interrogates the meaning of rubbish, and eventually repurposes a “worthless” pile of discards into musical instruments (valued and with voice).

Get the book here

The second half of the book contains step-by-step illustrated tutorials that guide readers in making their own functional instruments out of household scraps. The following tutorial videos are meant to aid and inspire the crafting effort:

3 ingredients for this instrument: Popsicle sticks, tape, and chip bag.

xylophone made from boba straws

Cardboard, fishing line, and chopsticks are all you need for this stringed instrument.

Build a bamboo saxophone in 1 minute using bamboo and plastic.

Reed Membrane instrument made from sprinkler pipe, balloon, rubber band, and duct tape.

Popsicle sticks, scrap wood, screws, and a drill are all that is needed for this build.

Making bean dip? Save the cans and chip bags!

Bottle caps make excellent tambourines. Here’s how!

Got SPAM? Make a 3-string, 1-fret guitar with these instructions.

Summer fun doesn’t have to end in the fall!

Cigar box + fishing line+ copper wire = ukulele. (PS: recognize the hat?)

In seeking to prove that these are more than just silly, one-off eco-craft projects, I composed a full album and recorded it using only my homemade instruments. The album is available on this website or wherever you access your streaming music. Have a listen!

ORder your copy here

Hear more about the book on my interview with HPR.