Article written by Allie Dalola, intern with the U.S. Department of State and a current student at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill.
| Lawyer and AWE alumna Sala Josephine Stowers-Kolo is a strong advocate for Samoan land holders. [PHOTO – Courtesy of Sala Josephine Stowers-Kolo] |
[Auckland, May 2022] Samoan lawyer and Academy for Women Entrepreneurs alumna Sala Josephine Stowers-Kolo has a singular focus: to educate and provide legal support to fellow Samoans regarding their land rights.
In Samoa, land rights are complex. First, land on an island is finite, so it is in high demand. Second, 80% of the island’s land is community-owned or “customary,” where land is passed down through a family by the chief or “matai”. As Samoa has modernized, this cultural land-holding system has led to legal conflicts.
For instance, since customary land is not owned by an individual it cannot be sold or mortgaged, which leads to debates over who can make decisions about leasing it. While the government reserves the right to claim customary land in specific cases – to build roads and public works for example – some allege that the government at times fails to properly compensate the landholders. And many Samoans living abroad are not aware that they are entitled to compensation for land that they own.
Land rights on the Pacific island follow a complex set of customary rules [Photo: DOS website]
Responding to these issues, Sala started her firm in 2017 to offer legal support and educate Samoans about customary land rights. “I want to use my experience in this area to empower our own,” Sala says. “And create a sense of appreciation of their land and to put them at ease about land issues.”
Sala built her credibility working 10 years as the first female division chief in Samoa’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment where she dealt with complex land disputes, conservation, and climate change. It was here that she recognized her passion for land rights and realized that there was a high demand among Samoan people for information.
“I discovered that land is actually at the cornerstone of all the disputes and the ongoing issues,” Sala explains. “I've seen with my own eyes that there is a lack of basic understanding about land rights.”
Sala took advantage of her legal skills and Academy for Women Entrepreneurs training to teach Samoans about their land rights. [PHOTO – Courtesy of U.S. Consulate Auckland] |
She later moved to Auckland, New Zealand prior to the pandemic, and during the lockdowns thought about setting up a new venture in New Zealand to help Samoans living there.
In 2020, Sala joined the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs, a U.S. government women’s empowerment program by the U.S. Embassy in New Zealand. She attributes her success in establishing local networks and harnessing entrepreneurial skills to AWE, skills like branding, developing a business plan, and self-evaluation. Beyond business skills, Sala says networking with other women through AWE empowered her to pursue her passions and represent Oceania in global events like the Woman Impact Summit in November 2021.
“AWE creates a combination of being a fervent entrepreneur and a strong woman,” she testifies. “When you are empowered, you feel strong and resilient. You feel like you're being enabled in whatever way that you can to grow professionally. Without that privilege, I wouldn't even be talking about customary land.”
Sala feels empowered to give a voice to Samoans living around the world about their customary land rights and hopes to release a series of webinars to broaden her reach in spreading awareness about different issues affecting customary lands to Samoans living abroad.
“All in all, I think that no matter where we go in life, we will always have a longing for our home and aspire to go back and do something useful for that place,” she explains. “While I'm temporarily away from my home country, I can do something worthwhile with my talents to help promote appreciation and understanding of our customary lands legal framework.”
To date, AWE has empowered more than 500 women across New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. [Photo Courtesy of U.S. Consulate Auckland] |
Sala is grateful to AWE for putting her on her path, and is excited for the program to empower many more women across the Pacific. The U.S. Embassy in New Zealand runs one of the largest AWE programs in the world; its 2021 cohort included more than 300 Pacific Islander women from Auckland to the Cook Islands to Bora Bora.
Since 2019, the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs has empowered more than 16,000 women in 80 countries with the knowledge, networks, and access they need to launch and scale successful businesses. To date, U.S. Consulate Auckland has empowered more than 500 women in New Zealand, the Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Niue and Samoa. AWE is a program of the U.S. Department of State.
For more information, please visit: https://eca.state.gov/awe.
