Environmental research

The village of Vailoa Palauli depends on its coastal springs for the main water source for community use. The village is blessed with an abundance of freshwater springs, however most water from the natural springs runoff to the sea and had been wasted. The problem with the high water wastage is that this water could be conserved and utilized during the period of flooding which causes dirty water, and sometimes the limited water available for the water springs during dry season. The people of our village see the need to manage the water resources within our village in a sustainable manner in order for the community to preserve and adapt new ways of using our resources. We do not want to continuously see our water going to waste, but the problem is that we don t have enough resources to build strong water storage to conserve our resources. This project is for the benefit of the village and is manage by the Women s Committee in the community. The village is headed by a village council (consist of village chiefs or matai s). Village politics is based on the traditional system of governance where the village council makes decisions and any activity within the village is reported to the village council. Hence, even the water project managed by the women, the village council provides support through working with untitled men to help with the project. The village economy is very subsistence based and weather sensitivity follows the seasonal patterns, however there are certain times of unpredictable heavy rainfall. Local events in the community such as building of a church or community building may affect the project in terms of delay in work. Also internal politics can also affect the project if there are differences within the women s committee, however this could all be resolved at the village level, before it comes to the SGP office

Samoa