Young man proud of what he does

By Fetalai Tuilulu’u 24 June 2017, 12:00AM

Meet Charlie Eti.

The 20-year-old hails from the village of Matautu Lefaga.

When the Village Voice team caught up with him, he was selling taro.

“I work hard to develop our plantation,” he told the Village Voice.

 “I am trying to sell as much as possible to have enough money for our weekend.”

According to Charlie, his family has relied on their plantation for as long as he can remember.

 “I have been working our land when I couldn’t continue on going school. My father helped me. 

“We grow different kinds of taro and when it’s harvest time, we sell them here. So the work continues.

“We do share the house with my siblings’ and some of them are employed.”

He also explained why he feels that having a plantation is better than having a job. 

“I’ve never been in a work-place before, but I have an instinct that it’s much better living off of a plantation,” he said.

“So every Friday I bring seven baskets taro in the morning, seven in the afternoon and seven in the evening but there’s not a day that we have a basket left. 

“We always make up to $800 on Friday from our taro. It’s fast money.”

He addes that the sale of taro helps the family in more ways than one.

“This is our third harvest period of our batch of taro,” he said. 

“People sell their taro for different prices but for me I set my prices for $20 a basket. 

“It’s enough to get things going for the family; it takes care of our different obligations as well as the occasional fa’alavelave.”

Even though tending a plantation is a lot of hard work, Charlie says it’s all worth it in the end. 

“My dad is my number one helper,” he said. “We would start working in the early hours of the morning. We work every day and we love it.”

By Fetalai Tuilulu’u 24 June 2017, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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