Satisfied with fruits of the land

By Seia Soloi 01 April 2017, 12:00AM

The plantation and vegetable gardens pay well.

Sometimes you make more money than a person who holds down a regular job.

Sa Musiula, 37, of Falelauniu and Vaiusu, knows this.

The mother of 12 said this is what they depend on for a living.

“At first we used to live in Vaiusu where we stayed together with my parents.

“But my father realised that a lot of the things on our land at Falelauniu was being stolen so we decided to relocate up here.”

Sa and her family have a taro and banana plantation. They also have a vegetable garden.

“This is what we have been doing since we moved here,” she said.

“We work hard in the plantation to earn money for my children’s school fees. Six of them are in school and some don’t go to school, they stay home to help their father with the plantation.”

Sa said staying home helps them teach their children some tough lessons.

 “Their father takes the boys to the plantation. 

“As for me and my girls we stay home and do the chores that every tamaitai does. What we want our children to know is how to live the Samoan life.”

She agrees that the cost of living is too expensive.

“I’ve seen lots of people complain about the cost of living,” she said.

“I don’t blame them. For me personally, why do we complain when we have land for plantation and vegetables? It’s our own people’s fault for not working hard enough.”

So what is a day in the life of Sa?

“It’s usually Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday we deliver goods to the market,” she said.

“We sometimes earn $700tala in a week when we take the vegetables such as tomatoes, cabbages and others. So for my family we are satisfied with what we earn from the land.”

Sa said their goal is to build a better home.

By Seia Soloi 01 April 2017, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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