Sili, Samoa

Not to be confused with Sili, American Samoa.

Sili
Village
Sili is located in Samoa
Sili
Sili
Coordinates: 13°45′22″S 172°22′40″W / 13.75611°S 172.37778°W / -13.75611; -172.37778
Country Samoa
DistrictPalauli
Population
 (2016)
 • Total
1,071
Time zone-11

Sili is a village on the south side of Savai'i island in Samoa. Sili is situated inland, unlike most villages in Samoa which are settlements by the sea. The village lies within the electoral constituency of Palauli 1. [1] The population is 1071.[2]

The people of Sili rely on subsistence agriculture for their livelihood. Due to its location away from the coast, fishing has minimal impact on the village economy. The Sili river, like most natural resources and land in Samoa, is situated on traditional land owned by the village. The river has cultural and historical significance for the people. Traditional knowledge and conservation is a key factor in village governance. Organic farming is used for all crops and the use of pesticides and chemicals are banned.[3]

In recent years, Sili rejected a scheme by the government of Samoa to build a hydroelectric plant on village land[4] due to environmental and cultural factors. The hydro project had received backing from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) which had been assisting the Samoan government and its Electric Power Corporation (EPC) to make high priority investment in renewable energy project.[5] The ADB had given the government US$0.3million towards the hydro project in 2003. Village chiefs (matai) claimed the scheme would pollute their water and ruin the environment.[6]

  1. ^ "Electoral Constituencies Act 2019" (PDF). Parliament of Samoa. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  2. ^ "Census 2016 Preliminary count" (PDF). Samoa Bureau of Statistics. 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Sili Village". United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), The GEF Small Grants. Archived from the original on 24 April 2010. Retrieved 23 November 2009.
  4. ^ "Samoa's Sili hydro plan scuttled, 12 March, 2004 UTC". Radio New Zealand International. Retrieved 23 November 2009.
  5. ^ "Preparing the Savaii Renewable Energy Project, TA number 3985". Asian Development Bank, Projects. 2002. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 23 November 2009.
  6. ^ Francis Group, Taylor & (2004). Europa World Year Book 2, Book 2. Taylor & Francis. p. 3627. ISBN 1-85743-255-X. Retrieved 23 November 2009.