East or West, home is the best. 

Ask Luma’a Maona from the village of Uafato Fagaloa and he will be happy to tell you why. 

Luma’a is 40 years old and he owns and operates a taro and kava plantation to provide for his family. 

Aside from his plantation, Luma’a said carving handicrafts is one of their main sources of income. 

“Most people prefer living in Apia because there are a lot of nice, new things in Apia. 

“But as for me, home is where the heart is and that’s why I prefer staying here. 

I grew up and I am used to the life in the village. 

“There is no place like home. You can do whatever you want and you do your own thing, no one will ever come and tell you off when you are staying on your own land and in your own house.

“Another thing I like about life here in the village is that you can grow any crops you like on it and enjoy spending time with your family and children. 

Life is simple here and I love it so much.”

Luma’a was spotted by the Village Voice carrying bananas to his home after working on his plantation. 

“This is all we do back here in the village. We work on our lands and we also work on making handicrafts to sell for money. 

“The good thing is that  you are free to do whatever you want. 

If you don’t feel like working on your plantation, you can just stay home and work on your handicrafts. You are your own boss. You don’t need to worry about asking someone else for permission.

“But because we are used to working on the lands, we never get tired of doing it because we know our families depend on it.”

However, Luma’a said that the only problem he continues to face every day is that pigs always destroy his plantation. 

“It’s a really bad thing because it’s very sad when you spend so much time on your plantation and then you come the next morning and you see that it has been damaged. 

“The ava doesn’t really get affected but it is usually the taro plantation.”

However, Luma’a said families with pigs have been informed about this and most of them now have sties to keep their pigs from running around and destroying the plantations. 

“And this is a good thing because we all know that families depend so much on their lands for a living.”

Other than that, Luma’a said he enjoys life in the village. 

“Like I said before, life is easy and simple here. 

“This is home for me and my family and no matter where I go, Uafato Fagaloa is home for me because it is where my heart is. 

“And no matter what challenges we face, we always solve our problems by working together as a community and that’s one of the things I love about life here. 

“It’s simple and peaceful.”