Koko in Samoan means cacao,
but koko, also knows as toto, means blood.
Cacao came to Samoa around 700 AD
while our people were travelling through the Pacific
and through many different nations
and connecting with many indigenous people
from all over the world.
They brought the cacao seeds, the pods, back to Samoa
and the volcanic-rich soil is perfect for its cultivation.
My Grandfather was one of the pioneers of
cultivating Samoa to a commercial level
and also created his own strand of koko called Lafi7.
Working with chocolate for me, or working with cacao
is a full sensory experience.
Before you even touch the cacao
you can smell it through the room.
The smell of the cacao reminds me of home.
It reminds me of beautiful moments of
connecting with family, with long discussions
and getting deep into how we feel about things.
Living Koko is myself and my partner in life
and my business partner Glen Reiss.
It is the best feeling to be able to get up
and work with your best friend.
The things that she's brilliant at, I'm not
and the things that I like doing, she doesn't.
So it just works.
It's a beautiful project to be part of with him
and we're able to grow the business together and
know that what we're doing has a great social impact,
for not only our villages and spaces back home,
but also for us.
There is a central space where all the koko is processed
but the koko is collected from many different
domestic farms throughout Savai'i and also in Upolu
which is the main island in Samoa.
It's taken to one place in Asau, which is the village.
In this space they ferment and they dry the koko there.
This is managed and owned by
Saleimoa and Rosie Vaai.
Rosie is actually like a distant cousin of mine
and it's really nice to be connecting and working
with my family back home in Samoa.
How's it going over there?
Sun is up, koko's growing, what more can you ask for?
COVID's been pretty tough over here,
how's it with you all?
Like everywhere else, everybody's in lockdown
but with farming you can do it individually.
But life goes on and a lot of people are taking
back to the land, so it's a good thing for koko.
Coronavirus has had an impact.
A lot of our sales is moving to an online space.
Previously we were selling to cafes and businesses
so as they were affected by COVID
then our sales were too.
A lot of our community, especially the
Samoan community have been in contact with us.
asking for large supplies - like, a kilo here,
five kilos here, ten kilos there - of unroasted beans.
So we're starting to sell unroasted beans for
Pacific Island mothers to show their young
how to make koko Samoa at home.
So this is actually a really beautiful time to
bring back our own traditions,
to bring back processes and ways of doing things
that take a little time -
a little bit more time than what we're normally used to -
and you know, we have that time now that we're in iso.
To share these traditions with our young
so that when they do go back to Samoa
and they see these things being done,
they understand why.
Supporting communities overseas
and my community here, I think that ...
that ...
that was ...
has always been in me
but kind of took a resurgence
in 2012
when I lost one of my good friends.
Jill Meagher was murdered in Brunswick
and that kind of changed
just ...
everything in my life.
I realised that if I wanted to start seeing light again
I needed to create spaces of light for myself to
remember that there was beauty in the world.
I guess I took another lens, or approach,
to how I did things.
I ...
saw this skill set that I had
in creating festivals, I was helping run festivals
in Canada and here in Melbourne
and I put that into supporting my community here.
And yeah, just creating Living Koko.
I found a beautiful partner that
wanted to go on the journey with me
and together we are able to support our
communities back home with building their
financial village economy
and also while supporting
our communities here in Melbourne.
The last My Island Dream that we did, which is a
festival where schools come and perform
and celebrate Pacific Island culture,
it was the same day that she had gone missing
many years ago and I thought
'Wow. If I hadn't gone down that journey of
trying to see light in different spaces,
because of what happened,
this wouldn't have happened.'
We wouldn't have 300 young people performing
and feeling so much pride and confidence
and connecting to their lands.
It definitely puts you in a space of gratitude, always.
So ... life is your journey, but it's the joy that you bring
into that journey that is going to
make your life a blessing, full of blessings.