Samoan women drive sustainable farming

Farmers in Samoa are combing tradition, hi-tech and organic practices to strengthen and sustain village economies and in doing so have become role models for other island nations.

“In Samoa, the most influential and successful farming group is led by Women in Business Development – essentially a group of women seeking to create sustainable incomes out of sustainable resources for rural families,” says Faumuina Tafunai, who is the media specialist for Women in Business Development Inc.

“Unaware of the default ways of doing things in agriculture and economic development, they created their ways.”

The women first targeted smallholder farmers. “Our Samoan farmers are families who have strong traditional farming knowledge and are tilling the land with a giant crowbar because they live on a volcanic island.

“They are cash-poor, and time-rich and in 15 generations, no-one who lives on the farm has ever had a bank account.”

Faumuina Tafunai is the media specialist for Women in Business Development Inc.

Faumuina says it is under the formidable leadership of Adi Tafunai that Women in Business formulated the idea that it would be trade, tradition and technology that would achieve their aims of sustainability.

They began with planting trees to produce virgin coconut oil and helped farmers gain organic certification. “They indoctrinated organic farming principles into the organisation and farming groups so that it is more than value-added.

“It’s akin to a religion. From starting with five certified farms, it has grown to around 600 farms, including five whole villages and it’s working with one of Samoa’s smaller island to gain whole island certification.”

There’s even been a Fair Trade Deal brokered with cosmetic giant The Body Shop so today the coconut oil in the company’s products comes from Samoa.

Compulsory savings

The Women in Business Development group has set up its own microfinance system, tailored to Samoan culture. “Unlike countries like India, Sri Lanka and Kenya, Samoa does not have a market-based economy. There are only 190,000 people there and most are subsistence farmers.

“To get a loan from Women in Business, you must be in an income programme, which all have a compulsory savings element and you use your savings as equity.

“To make sure staff understood the value of savings, they also have compulsory savings that are only accessible at Christmas and Mothers’ Day.”

Women in Business, says Faumuina, are fans of modern technology and after much trial and error, finally, using drones, were able to GPS map each farm so the group could respond to markets in terms of its ability to supply coconut products, cacao and later on coffee.

Organic meal

“This year they will also be launching a range of apps including Farm Wallet, which is a basic electronic ledger for farmers to help build their financial literacy and apps to assist the Farm to Table programme.” “This links farmer with restaurants and also enables visitors to Samoa to find out where to go for an organic meal.

High tech is helping but low-tech also has a place. “The coconut oil is manually pressed using an adapted olive oil press, after the coconut flesh is dried on large concrete ovens with stainless steel tops and fires fuelled by coconut husks.

“You could do this in a centralised system because it would yield more and be more economic but you would be adding to the problem of rural de-population and village unemployment.

“Plus when children see their parents working in an enterprise, they become part of the succession plan.”

Global awards

Faumuina says the leadership shown by Women In Business has been recognised with three global awards for economic empowerment and Adi Tafunai also sat on the World Economic Forum from 2013 to 2015.

Five years ago a couple from the Solomon Islands approached Women in Business for assistance in beginning a similar scheme to their country. “With Women in Business assistance and the belief that they could have a thriving island economy and increase the wellbeing of their people, the Island of Simbo in the Western Province now has its own boat, a honey industry, produces virgin coconut oil, and has a fashion industry printing its own fabrics and making dresses and uniforms.

“They have also had a massive social change. Where before on this island the women did all the work, now the men have partnered in their efforts because Women in Business Development scolded and appealed to the men to get with the programme.”


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