April 3, 2017
Organic youth warriors to revolutionize nutrition in Samoa

The graduates during their trainings (Photo: Faumuina Felolini Maria Tafuna’i)

In Samoa, where warriors play a large role in the communal culture, a group of young women and men, also known as the “Organic Warriors” are producing food through more sustainable techniques. For 12 weeks, young people with scarce job prospects attend the Organic Warrior Academy. The SDG Fund initiative, part of the joint programme Farm to Table, aims to revolutionize food production and consumption in Samoa. The programme promotes youth employment, especially for those who have dropped out of school, and opportunities for young women.

Women in Business Development Inc. (WIBDI), in collaboration with UNDP, is leading the project to address interconnected challenges. Youth under 30 years of age comprise 64% of Samoa’s population, and their unemployment rate is 16%--almost double that of country as a whole. Meanwhile, the hospitality industry imports most of the fresh produce it consumes and local culinary traditions are endangered.

Hands on experience

Warriors are building their own small vegetable gardens to apply their new knowledge and generate new income opportunities. Iese Mata’ia, a “Organic Warrior” said, “we are so grateful to this programme because it has taught us a lot of important things about how to become a successful farmer. We learned about things we didn’t know before. And I think that this is a great programme for all the youth who didn’t do so well in school.”

Today, many of their organic products are reaching restaurants and the flourishing tourism industry. A fortnightly twilight market where organic farmers can sell their produce has been established, with support from the Samoa Tourism Authority and the Samoa Hotel Association.

Leaving no one behind

As this is a new programme, challenges were common. Young women in villages faced obstacles to completing the training due to family responsibilities. Associate Director of WIBDI, Auali’itia Alberta Vitale, said “It was hard at first. The participants had to show up every day for trainings the past 12 weeks. And we want to congratulate them for their commitment, hard work and effort.”

In order to reach the hardest to reach, training will be also taken to the rural areas and Savaii, the largest but least developed of the Samoan Islands.