Sili is a village on the south side of
Savai'i island in
Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...
. 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. The population is 1071.
The people of Sili rely on
subsistence agriculture
Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow crops on smallholdings to meet the needs of themselves and their families. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements. Planting decisions occu ...
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.
In recent years, Sili rejected a scheme by the government of Samoa to build a
hydroelectric
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...
plant on village land
due to environmental and cultural factors. The hydro project had received backing from the
Asian Development Bank
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank to promote social and economic development in Asia. The bank is headquartered in Metro Manila, Philippines and maintains 31 field offices around the world.
The bank was establishe ...
(ADB) which had been assisting the Samoan government and its Electric Power Corporation (EPC) ''to make high priority investment in renewable energy project''. 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.
References
{{Authority control
Populated places in Palauli