August 30, 2022
Koko Samoa peps up Kahungunu chief
Ngāti Kahungunu chairperson Bayden Barber is looking at business opportunities between the Iwi and Samoa.
As part of the iwi’s Takitimu strategy, the Hawke’s Bay and Wairarapa iwi has been looking at engagement with the Pacific, including Samoa where the waka originally set off from.
Mr Barber joined Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern for this month’s trip ceremonies to mark the 60th Anniversary of the Treaty of Friendship between Aotearoa New Zealand and Samoa.
“We spent the afternoon of the second day at a business hub and it was amazing to see how we could work together. And we are working together – some of the cocoa that comes from Samoa comes directly here to Hastings where they make some of the best chocolate in the Pacific. It’s a start. We want to investigate, where there are opportunities, and there are plenty,” he says.
He can also see opportunities in agriculture, horticulture and natural remedies.