As we bring 2020 to a close, I am so proud to share that the last “Spotlight on a Pasifika Enterprise” interview this year is with the co-owners of Living KoKo, Glen and Phoebe.

Based in Melbourne, Australia with roots from the beautiful nation of Samoa, Glen and Phoebe share their:

🍫 Inspiration behind Living Koko;
🍫 Sustainable practices of Living Koko in Samoa; and
🍫 New ways of doing business post-COVID.

Living Koko’s products range from chocolate, drinking cacao, tea to roasted beans all at good prices with an online shop facility.

Living Koko empowers communities in Melbourne, Australia and in the Pacific Islands through fair, ethical trade and brings the best cacao in the world to you.

Tune in for a delightful insight on cacao from Living Koko:
https://www.southpacificmegamall.com/aisle/cacao/

Our “Spotlight on a Pasifika Enterprise” this week takes us all the way to beautiful Samoa 🇼🇸🇼🇸🇼🇸 I had the pleasure of a dialogue with Shelley Burich, Founder and Owner of Vaoala Vanilla, who shares about:

🌿 The delicate process of caring for vanilla beans to fruition;
🌿 Many benefits of committing to the long-term harvesting of vanilla; and
🌿 Her expert advice on those who are wanting to start a vanilla farm in the South Pacific region.

‘Vao’ in the Samoan language means ‘tree area’ and ‘ala’ means to ‘awaken.’ Vaoala Vanilla has awoken Shelley’s passion and awareness of working in harmony with nature.

I believe you will be encouraged to foster deep respect of how this special vanilla bean makes her incredibly long & high maintenance journey from the ground to your table, to be enjoyed by millions around the world on a daily basis.

Tune in for a fresh insight on vanilla from Vaoala Vanilla:
https://www.southpacificmegamall.com/aisle/vanilla/

Made with lots of love and hand-crafted with care in the pristine islands of Papua New Guinea, Oshin Organics is bountiful with organic-based coconut products for your hair, body and lips 🇵🇬 🥥

These gorgeous products are not solely for your health and beauty, but are also medicinal and therapeutic. And your fur babies? Well, they have been taken care of too with their very own organic pet care range 🐾

For those in Queensland, Australia, come and meet Erni at either the:
🇦🇺 Burleigh Markets on Saturdays; or
🇦🇺 Brisbane Vegan Markets on Sundays.

For an online browse and to buy yourself or loved ones some goodies for Christmas, you can shop online from Shopify or direct from Oshin’s website below.

Tune in for some gems from Oshin Organics:
https://www.southpacificmegamall.com/aisle/coconut-body-products/

This week’s SPOTLIGHT ON A PASIFIKA ENTERPRISE is a testament to the amazing virtual world we live in as I had the immense pleasure of interviewing Rosie Akauola, who is of Tongan heritage, sharing with us all the way from Germany whilst her business, Island Rose Dream, is running in Melbourne, Australia.

In this valuable dialogue, Rosie shares her:
➡️ inspiration behind Island Rose Dream;
➡️ initiative to support youth and women from certain villages in Tonga; and
➡️ views on the importance of Pasifika women supporting each other in business.

Island Rose Dream offers:
🇹🇴 Tongan Coconut Beauty Body Oils
🇹🇴 Tongan Coconut Beauty Sugar Scrubs
🇹🇴 Tropical Coconut Handmade Soaps

Tune in for some gems from Island Rose Dream:
https://www.southpacificmegamall.com/aisle/coconut-body-products/

To wrap up ‘Global Climate Change Week,’ we are incredibly honoured to have had a dialogue with Matthias Gelber, who was voted the “Greenest Person on the Planet.”

Matthias is an impactful public speaker on environmental and sustainability issues who started a successful environmental consulting company in 1999. Currently based in the Phillipines, Matthias shares his views on:

✅ Climate change in the South Pacific region;
✅ Tips on how we can go green and reduce our carbon footprint; and
✅ How we can help the planet through our buying behaviour.

Tune in for GreenMan’s perspective on a more sustainable green Earth.

In this weekly segment of SPOTLIGHT ON A PASIFIKA ENTERPRISE, we are honoured to have had a “talanoa” (dialogue) session with co-owners of Pacific Koro Farms (PKF), Aisea Volavola & Lily Vallance, all the way from Koro Island, Fiji, who both shared so many golden nuggets on their:

➡️ short-term and long-term vision for PKF;
➡️ “Loloma Initiative”that gives back to their community such as building a brand new flush toilet for one of their elders; and an
➡️ eye-opening view on the silver lining in our post-COVID world where farming enterprises and the agricultural sector in Fiji and the Pacific could work towards being self-suffient and self-reliant.

Tune in for some gems from Pacific Koro Farms: https://www.southpacificmegamall.com/farm