Falealupo

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Falealupo

Falealupo is a village situated on the northwestern peninsula

Peninsula

A peninsula is a piece of Landform that is nearly surrounded by water but connected to mainland via an isthmus. Word origin: Latin paeninsula : paene, almost + insula, island....
of Savai'i

Savai'i

Savai?i is "called the ?soul of Samoa?. Here the 20th century has put down the shallowest roots, and the faa Samoa ? the Samoan way ? has the most meaning." Savaii is Samoa?s big island, bigger than all the others combined....
, from the dateline. In the sea at the farthest point of the peninsula, the Fafa, an outcropping of volcanic rocks, is said in legend to be the gateway to the underworld, where aitu

Aitu

In Polynesian languages the word aitu refers to ghosts or spirits, often malevolent. The word is common to many languages of Western and Eastern Polynesia....
, the spirits of deceased persons, reside.

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The Falealupo Rainforest School

In 1990 the Samoan government gave the remote village of Falealupo an ultimatum to build a better school or teachers would be removed and their children would not be educated. Having no other source of revenue, the villagers sold logging rights to their rainforests. Before the logging could take place, however, Seacology

Seacology

Seacology is a non-profit, non-governmental organization with the sole mission of preserving the ecosystems and cultures of islands throughout the globe....
co-founder and chairman Paul Cox

Paul Alan Cox

Dr. Paul Alan Cox is a botanist whose scientific research focuses on the ecology of island plants and the ethnobotany of island peoples. Receiving his Ph.D....
discovered that the pristine rainforests surrounding the village of Falealupo were to be logged. Cox worked with the village chiefs and promised to raise the funds for the school in exchange for a covenant protecting the rainforest. The Falealupo Rainforest School was constructed, and since that time Seacology has had a close relationship with the village. In recognition of this achievement, in 1997 Cox together with the late High Chief Fuiono Senio won the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize

Goldman Environmental Prize

The Goldman Environmental Prize is a prize given annually to grassroots environmentalismal activists from six geographic areas: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, and South America and Central America....
. Shortly thereafter, a permanent endowment was created for the Falealupo Rainforest Preserve, using Cox's Prize stipend and matching donations from Nu Skin International and Nature's Way. Also in 1997 the Falealupo Rainforest Canopy Aerial Walkway was dedicated. Seacology funded the walkway in order to help the community generate revenues from eco-tourism. At the ceremony dedication, it was announced that the village would extend the 50-year covenant and promised to protect the rainforest in perpetuity. In 1999, the village announced that beginning January 1, 2000 monthly tourist revenues from the aerial canopy walkway would be used to fund a modest retirement fund for village elders.

External links

Seacology
Seacology

Seacology is a non-profit, non-governmental organization with the sole mission of preserving the ecosystems and cultures of islands throughout the globe....