I know you are curious what I look like when I’m not milking a cow, giving workshops, making cheese, doing one-on-one sessions, gardening, fermenting or fighting a fire. Those who know me, often think I am always on the move. Well here is the proof…

“That was a one-off, just posing for a picture”, you’ll say…
Well, here is more proof…


See? I can be still, especially on a tropical island, like Samoa!

This was our first extended, overseas trip without our children, in 25 years. The impetus came from wanting to acknowledge our 40-year kissing anniversary. As we never got married, the first kiss is what we have celebrated each year. Awwww… cute eh? ❤️

Anyway, to the point… why I’m drawn to write this post, is about the shock and sadness I experienced when observing the physical appearance of the people of Samoa. I had heard that Pasifika are struggling with an obesity epidemic; to witness it firsthand brought up a whole new level of awareness…. and deep grief. During our 8 days on Samoa, I met one woman over 40 who was not obese.

Wikipedia tells me that ‘the earliest photographs of Samoans provide visual proof of the native population’s natural physique before the introduction of processed foods by Western society. The natural lifestyle of physically labouring to provide for natural foods and building shelters and communities gave way to modern conveniences like drive through restaurants, motorised vehicles, air travel, wireless communications, and pharmaceutical and recreational drugs. The development of modern society, although advanced with technologies, has also made it easy for many to live an unhealthy lifestyle, therefore leading to obesity.’

We saw ‘real food’ everywhere… taro plants, coconut, avocado, mouth-watering tropical fruits, chickens and these free-range pigs. Yet a few visits to a ‘supamaketi’ gave me a clear idea of why being obese in Samoa is now the norm. Apart from some onions and garlic, there were only food products (≠ real food) to be found; highly processed noodles, cookies, canned beans, white bread and lollies (oodles of them!). All the empty calories that make you want to eat more, because it is void of any nutrients. No wonder type 2 diabetes is also sky-rocketing.

I mourn so much that the Pālagi (or, as I heard Samoans say, the white people) brought white bread, sugar and industrial oils to a country, that is now facing a threat of being wiped-out in the next few generations, because of it. And all I can do is hold these beautiful people with so much love.