COOKS CONNECTED
Remember Richard and Jewell?
They’re showing organic way
Words and photos: Shona Pitt

Jewell and Richard Cook …
Cook Islands connection.

What’s in a name? For Richard and Jewell Cook, of Samoa, their Cook Islands connection is more than just their name. And more than just recent research here on growing noni organically.
The couple both have a long association with the Cook Islands and recall the times they spent here with fondness.
The Cooks own Maliefono, a 182-acre plantation in Sale’imoa, on the western side of Upolu midway between the international airport and the capital, Apia. They have developed it into one of Polynesia’s leaders in organic farming.
Organic farming is a fast-developing area of agriculture. It follows increased public awareness of food safety issues and environmental concerns, especially in developed countries such, like New Zealand and Australia. It avoids the use of things like fertilisers and pesticides.
Richard grew up on Rarotonga in the 1930s when his father Leicester worked here for the New Zealand Government. He was also here recently to research and get those ideas on growing noni organically.
Jewell was an air hostess for Polynesian Airlines and flew into the Cook Islands on the DC3 flights.
Their route in those days was from Samoa to Aitutaki and then Rarotonga.
She recalled having to spend three weeks in Aitutaki when their aircraft broke down. It took that long for the spare parts to be flown in on a Globemaster aircraft.
“We also drank the island bond dry,” she recalls.
She speaks fondly of Kura Strickland, who was their agent, and how he would be there to meet their flights.
The Cooks have been organic farming for the past 15 years.
Their property has also been replanted over the years with native trees and a variety of fruit trees.
VARIETIES
Richard said they have amongst other things 20 varieties of mango, five varieties of avocado and nine varieties of breadfruit.
After having met stringent guidelines they are now certified as organic and are exporting the produce of their labour to markets in New Zealand and Australia.
There is also a piggery on the farm and they currently have 100 pigs. Jewell said that the pigs are fed a natural diet as there is an abundance of food on the property.
COCONUTS
They also supply the local market with dried coconuts, husked and un-husked. According to Jewell the Samoans do not use the canned coconut milk and that is for export only.
“Samoans prefer to use the fresh product and it is a waste of time having tin coconut milk in the shops as it will not sell,” she said.
She employs seven workers and they collect coconuts daily from around the property. It takes them one day to collect three to four thousand nuts and her staff can husk 1000 coconuts in three hours.
She said that one major supermarket in Apia orders a thousand nuts every couple of days and they supply on an average 3000 coconuts a week to the local shops.
A byproduct is the husk which is shredded into a mulch. This is bagged and is in popular demand for gardens and pot plants.
“Apparently shredded coconut was used in the past as stuffing for furniture,” Jewell said.
“However, we haven’t experimented with that use yet.”
QUARRY
Part of their property has been leased as a quarry on the condition that excavations are kept to one level and that there is no underground excavations. Blue rock is sourced and used for roads and scoria.
It was during these excavations that an exciting discovery was made. An ancient marae area in the shape of a star has had archeologists traveling from halfway around the world to research the property.
The couple said that ancient artifacts had previously been found in the vicinity of the mound area and their staff is taught to recognise the pieces.
The stone adzes found on the property have been the first of their type and Richard has over 100 undocumented adzes in his collection. He said they are estimated to be over 200 years old.
Archeologists have visited the historical site. It has caused a lot of excitement as there is no record, either oral or written, about the site.
While it is obvious the site is a marae, Richard said that no one knows what it was used for. He said that similar shaped mounds have been found on other islands in the Pacific.
One Tahitian historian became very excited when visiting the site and referred to it as the octopus.
Richard said that he is waiting for the results of carbon dating tests to find out how old the site is.
The couple know they will not see the results of their hard work during their lifetime. That has not deterred them from continuing to work on developing the property to restore the native plants and birdlife.
They said that the property will not be able to be subdivided and sold and are adamant that it remains in their family.
Their only wish is that one of their children or a member of their extended family continues with their work.

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