Bringing an entrepreneurial Palagi business brain into Samoa has raised some issues. From various sources I can see that some of them are obviously firsts.
[Pic: At Fagaloa Bay in now normal Dennis business atire - full Samoan regalia that they love over here - the Ula thingy around my neck that the chiefs all wear and the Lavalava that
In the 1970s I ran a fishing trip and boat hire business in Coromandel. When establishing a fishing contest I thought it appropriate to offer the Tanagata Whenua a slice of the action. Basically I was thirty years ahead of my time. The treaty claims only really kicked into full gear decades later!
The local Maori tribes couldn't handle the simple little gesture. What felt like 2432 meetings and 6 weeks later; ideas of setting up special trusts "Because something like this has never happened before" (i.e. a white man offering to pay Maoris for something from the sea) and I told them all to "Stick it!". There was a limit to my generosity. I wasn't in the business of solving 100 years or more of racial or social injustice - I was just a guy running a small business who was happy to cut the local people into it - if they could agree on who was going to take the money.
This was a first. The people couldn't agree. I'm not a racist. My children are both half Maori, but it was too hot a political potato at the time and so nothing happened.
I see the exact same thing happening here in Samoa some thirty years later.
We've been working with a small village, meeting and greeting people from the chief Matai down. They have a unique offering and unique needs and we have a unique offering for them. Essentially they want to have more Palagi come to buy more of their wares, but they can't agree how to do things to be able to market the entire village. In order to help Palagi do business with them, and of course indirectly to help them, they need to understand the basic requirements that will satisfy the Palagi visitors and then agree amongst themselves.
Samoa's culture does not naturally work business with Palagi at a village level. It works primarily at a family level and family pitted against family over future business opportunities is quite normal. The family unit is designed to work (and fight) together and to look after and protect its own. The introducing family has the entire rights to the Palagi business and others in the village "butt out" culturally speaking. This is not what the Palagi want. They want to buy from the entire village and deal with the entire village - not just one family. Unless there is a miracle, and the village comes together as one, these people are very likely to scare investors away and no Palagi will visit.
Miracles can sometimes happen though and if it does, then it will very likely be a first.
Another first here in Samoa relates to a legal matter. As part of what we are doing here in Samoa has a charitable purpose, I have been establishing a Charitable Trust (The SWAP Foundation to be precise). Except for legislation surrounding land ownership, Samoa's legislation is largely based on New Zealand law. In many cases the law is identical to New Zealand. More importantly unless there is local precedent, Samoa leans on New Zealand case law when interpreting their law.
A Charitable Trust must have a stated purpose for its existence. These aims are detailed in the Trust Deed and in NZ are closely analysed by the IRD and others to ensure that they are charitable and comply with charitable purposes that have been identified and tested over many years. In fact the concept and unique terms relating to a charitable purpose have special legal meaning from many hundreds of years ago in our legal "mother" England.
My application to establish a Charitable Trust caused consternation amongst officials in several departments because the common purpose for a Charitable Trust here is entirely for Educational and Religious purposes. These trusts are common in Samoa and officials misinterpreted the law to mean that ONLY educational and religious purposes are permitted. The Samoan statutes however talk of educational, religious AND OTHER CHARITABLE purposes. Our work is neither educational nor religious, so I supplied our lawyer with the extensive information that I was aware of and had available who then took the matter to the Attorney General here. I pushed the boundaries and sought a pre-approval of a Charitable Trust with a different, but legally Charitable purpose.
I was pleased to hear recently that the AG has agreed to use the common interpretation of New Zealand's laws in Samoa. Again this appears to be a first.
The price of entrepreneurialism is the same that happens to anything moving forward - there is a wake. Don't think that I enjoy creating a wake. I don't because it is hard work and there is usually risk, loss or change involved. These can be painful. A wake is simply the price one has to pay when doing something new.
But I like generating firsts. They are fun, and people generally appreciate the effort that comes from one who is trail-blazing.
Every now and then I meet a person here who appreciates the effort I put in and they are my friends here. Good friends, able to ride along with the successes of generating a few FIRSTS IN SAMOA!
Tagwords: firsts
