Samoa in the South Pacific, is not known for gourmet food or cooking but there are certainly a few things that could be compared to other well known dishes like Japanese sashimi.

Because of the location, Samoa has access to fresh tuna fish that is brought in to the fish market every morning. The fresh tuna is not only excellent for making tuna steaks, you can also use it for something called OKA.

The Polynesian people have naturally been using the local products when creating the recipe and still these ingredients will be found in any country in the world.

Another main ingredient in the OKA recipe is the coconut cream which is proven to be very healthy.

Traditional Samoan healers tells us, that the Samoan people were all healthy before the white man brought the processed food to the island.

Today Samoa has one of the highest diabetes rates in the world.

Preparing the OKA.

OKA is both healthy and delicious. In Samoa, the OKA is an important part of the Sunday family feast. It is made in the following way:

* Cut the raw tuna in small thumb nail size pieces and put in a bowl.

* Cut cucumber, tomatoes and onion very fine and add it to the bowl.

* Add fresh coconut cream (or from can) sauce together with some lemon juice.

* Add salt and pepper and some chili sauce if you like it hot.

Mix it all together and serve in small cups or bowls.

Leave it in the fridge for some time if you prefer it cold.

Palusami

Another important food item in Samoa is the palusami.

You start preparing palusami by collecting the young leaves from the taro plant (taro is a starchy edible root, bigger than a potato).

Make a mixture of coconut cream, onion and salt which will be used together with the taro leaves.

Put many taro leaves together and form a small bag. The coconut cream mixture will be poured into the little bag and closed.

A bread fruit leaf is usually used for wrapping the small taro leaf bag together, preventing it from falling apart.

The palusami will now be put on hot stones and baked in what the Samoans call UMU. After about 45 minutes on hot glowing stones and covered by large banana leaves. The palusami is ready to eat. The leaves have now dissolved and mixed with the coconut cream providing a delicious part of the Sunday meal.

Most visitors to Samoa love this traditional food experience where both OKA and palusami plays a big roll.

The unspoiled beauty, rich traditions and friendly locals are just a few of the reasons why any traveler would want to visit American Samoa. This tropical paradise will delight you with its glorious mountain ranges, serene bays, and peaceful villages. Website visitors are mostly toured by local guides who present them with the Polynesian traditions. They get to enjoy the beautiful scenery along with observe the Samoans’ lifestyle.

Your exploration starts as soon as you land on Samoan’s main island, Tutuila. You’re immediately greeted by the magnificent view in the harbor along with the city. The National Park located in Pago Pago, is perfectly well worth the pay a visit to. Being found in the capital of Samoa, this national park samples the very best of American Samoa as it is actually three parks situated in four separate islands. The tremendous scenery, remarkable shorelines, and tropical woods would truly make your stop by memorable.

In the event you walk around the classic normal American Samoan village situated in Tula, you may get to check out locals artfully creating siapo – a traditional Samoan cloth. Timber carving is in addition a conventional art as well as tattooing – either one of which may be leisurely seen by way of outdoors windows of houses or in markets.

While there are lots of hotels that could cater to your lodging needs, there is also a homestay program in Samoa in which locals open their homes to website visitors who wish to experience the local Samoan tradition.

American Samoa has a tropical climate, and it is advised that you pack casual summer clothing. It is also worth noting that it truly is customary in Samoa for both adults to cover very much of their body, while using shoulders and knees aptly hidden.

With all the warmth with the people and the stupendous organic beauty, this small archipelago is undeniably a paradise waiting to be located.

Samoa is a beautiful country known to all by its diverse natural environment. According to Samoa’s Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 2001, Samoa’s species biodiversity is among the richest and most varied of the Polynesian islands. It contains approximately 500 native vascular plant species of which 30% are found nowhere else in the world. There are also 21 butterfly species, over 20 species of land snails, 14 reptile species and 43 resident bird species, which 8 are found only in Samoa (Samoa’s Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 2001).

This displays that Samoa has numerous kinds of different flora and fauna established in her islands, however nowadays, the number of these species are declining rapidly due to one of the key reasons being; the bringing in of foreign plants and animals from other nations either accidentally or intentionally. These organisms are known as invasive species and they have become a major threat to Samoa’s biodiversity.

What are invasive species?

Invasive species aren’t aliens from outer space but are any plant, animal or virus which is not often originally from Samoa and is spreading beyond its normal occurrence rate causing a menace to agriculture or personal resources by damaging it. (Dovey 2003) Some examples of these would be the giant African snail, meremia vine, ivy gourd and so forth.

The impacts of these invasive species on our local environment

Invasive species are recognized as highly adaptive and fast breeding organisms. They are able spread freely in any particular environment, and due to their ability to breed uncontrollably; invasive species have an adverse influence on both humans and the environment.

Their interference with the environment has resulted in serious destruction and is a case that should be taken seriously in Samoa. Invasive vines such as merremia overwhelm vast areas of the native forests in Samoa driving many of our local plants to the verge of extinction. Furthermore, invasive vines also cause the production of flowers and fruits to dramatically decrease, affecting the species which depend on these fruits for food. For example; pigeons and fruit-bats.

Such impacts on the environment can also affect the people living in Samoa by creating “enormous costs to our islands development, food security, and human livelihoods through the damage and ruin caused to our agriculture, fisheries, and forestry industries” (Mark Bonin thesis). Moreover, Invasive species are also known to be disease carriers, thus directly harming humans and their health (Dovey 2003)

Solutions

It is generally recognized that once invasive species become established, they are extremely difficult to eradicate, therefore prevention is the first and best line of defense, and also the most cost-effective. Invasive species have become threatening and aggressive thus many different strategies should be implemented to control the widespread of these species. One method and is currently the best method used nowadays; is the quarantine system which has been set up to prevent any invasive specie from further spreading in the country when it arrives.

However, with the invasives already present in our country, the best thing to do is to control its growing rate by trying out different methods of eradication. These may include aerial spraying in certain areas because such chemicals can be made specifically to destroy that kind of specie, weeding and bagging of fruits for invasive vines and so forth. Overall, this can be an effective way to eradicate the continuing breeding these species. Another possible solution for the obliteration of invasive organisms is through biological control. Biological control is the natural means of eradication. This process involves introducing another type of specie that will feed on that pest and eventually leading to its extinction. Nevertheless, care must be taken so that the new specie will not become another pest in the long run.