Exploring opportunities
The last fortnight has seen the sale of my house in Milford by Auction (thanks to Barfoots who FINALLY sold it, even if it didn't reach the reserve we sought), the completion of appropriate business permits here in Samoa and exploration of a dozen investment possibilities, basically spending time establishing myself in Samoa.
Samoa is not an easy place to emmigrate to. A tourist is always welcome, but the Samoan people are highly resistant to change and are essentially suspicious of Palagi who do more than just come here as a tourist. I think that with a legacy of self-interest from the Germans from 1900 to 1919, through to the Kiwis until their independence, this caution is steeped in historical precedent and thus probably well justified. I don't begrudge that, even though it makes it a lot more difficult to do business here. As an ultra-creative entrepreneur, I do seem to specialise in doing the impossible at times!
With the people of Fusi Safata changing their mind, and therefore arrangements for building the first Honeycomb Resort falling through, I've been forced into a searching mode, spending most of my time seeking out investment opportunities (mainly based on land and land use) but also boats and the Internet.
Land ownership and use is a big thing over here. Samoan people have a deep association with land, particularly customary land, and their identity is strongly associated with the village from where they "came from". This is not so noticable from Samoans born overseas, but to those born in Samoa their village, within a clearly defined land boundary is large part of who they are. A Palagi using Customary Land for business or even philanthropic purposes is not an easy ask.
They say however that despite laws prohibiting offshore land ownership and Customary lands being effectively unavailable, anything can be done here if it is done the right way with the right people. I am learning patience and spending a lot of time visiting villages, talking to many people and absorbing the culture and the ways things are done here. I'm not yet a Samoan but may be be becoming like one in some ways. I think the fact that I appreciate relationships and work hard to build them means that I CAN actually work here with Samoans quite well.
I've looked at more than a dozen opportunities thus far, freehold land, village land, a boat business and of course the Internet. I have rented an old 3 brm house in Lotopa, just out of Apia (not the greatest of districts, but enough for a start) and we will do it up as a home, office and bunkhouse for visitors once my containers are off the wharf in a few weeks.
An Australian chippie Trevor MacKay has joined me for a recon visit. We've spent a lot of time checking out land, meeting people and thinking through the various options available to us. We're currently thinking that the Aleipata Region holds out good hope for establishing the first Honeycomb Resort. I am thinking that a boat would run quite well around the Malaela, Namua Island and wharf areas. Once the wharf is repaired and shipping between Samoa and American Samoa is restored, this area is likely to develop more than others. We have been talking with local MP George Meredith about these options and have built a good working relationship with him and his family.
Other options we have seen are a section with spectacular ocean and inland views in Vailele; bush settings on the Cross Island Road; and another we are looking at in Fagalo Bay where the people are known as the only wood carvers in the country. It will take time to settle on one project and location to start with but Samoa seems to have plenty of time!
Now that I have a business license I am starting to work on the SWAP (Samoan Web Ambassadors Programme) project in which we will bring overseas bloggers, Internet Marketers and others of influence into the country with the view to developing a UGC (User Generated Content) portal website. I've invited the local IT society (www.sits.ws) to be involved and will invite other local web developers to share in the project. We'll no doubt see who wants to step up to the plate over the next few weeks. I expect to be putting most of April and May into the portal website with a possible soft launch in early June 2010.
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