YWA hosts second monthly initiative
and brainstorming meeting
 The Office of Youth and Women’s Affairs and its director Leiataua Leuga Turner hosted the second monthly “Women and Youth Initiative and Brainstorming Meeting” on Thursday, November 29th, in the DOC conference room at the EOB in Utulei.
The gathering saw the presence of local women representing different walks of life from nurses and homemakers to retirees and school teachers.
Discussions centered around different ways to revitalize and bring back to life the traditional practices of weaving, sewing, producing handicrafts using natural resources, cooking with the use of traditional Samoan food, and re-planting indigenous trees.
Those in attendance included Sive Liufau, Fesala’i Tuitele, Tofiga Tuitele, To’aono Kelemete. Doreen Amituana’i, Maelega Amani, Rosita Lusi, Salome Soa, Fagalama Fuala’au, and Etenauga Lutu.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss initiatives and brainstorm on ways to go back to the good ol’ days by revitalizing the traditional ways of living as opposed to spending money on more modern things.
“If we learned how to sew our own clothes, we would save a lot of money,” Leiataua stressed during the first meeting. She said that if Samoans, particularly women, learned how to sew and cook traditional food items, there would be no need to spend any money.
In the old days, not a lot of money was spent by locals because the majority of Samoan people used to plant and grow their own food instead of buying it.
Basically, the message is simple: Surviving off of our natural resources and learning how to sew, cook, and weave using traditional Samoan methods will save a lot of money, which is a big deal in today’s society.
One example includes the purchasing of beach mats from the local stores when in fact, mats can be woven using dried up tree leaves that are easily accessible to everyone on island, free of charge.
The same thing applies to accessories like artificial flower earpieces (sei) and bracelets (taulima).
Now-a-days, a lot of money is spent on groceries and eating out. The more modern families are opting to buy fast food, eat out at restaurants, and buy hundreds of dollars worth of groceries a month.
But traditional Samoan food, which some argue is also the healthiest way to go, can be served up at little or no cost to feed the whole family.
Some of the more popular Samoan delicacies include fa’ausi, pisua, sofe sofe, fai’ai, and ufi – all of which are easy to make and cost nothing to produce.
But even the traditional foods are now being prepared the more modern way. Take for instance the pisua which was traditionally prepared using the masoa but has since been substituted with tapioca bought from local stores.
This is part of the reason why Leiataua is encouraging the planting of things like u’a and masoa both locally and in the Manu’a Islands.
Other plants and trees on the list include the laufala, laupaogo, and lauie, all of which Leiataua argues can contribute to a booming business in today’s market.
“There is a lot of money to be made off of our natural resources,” Leiataua keeps repeating.
Anyone interested in attending the next monthly meeting can call the Department of Youth and Women’s Affairs at 633-2835 or 633-2836.
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