Kava Connection

How an entrepreneur exports kava from the Solomon Islands to the world

Shirly Money Teoli is from Malaita province, the most densely populated of the nine provinces that make up Solomon Islands, an island nation in the Pacific Ocean. She lives in Honiara, the country’s capital. Shirly and her husband, Joseph Teoli, have five daughters.

“We started our business in 2009,” Shirly said. “Joseph took a loan from his employer, and we began exporting fresh fruits and vegetables to Nauru.”

In 2016, they received a small order for kava, a shrub plant endemic to Oceania which is known for its relaxing effect when consumed. Through drying and grinding of the roots before adding to water, kava is transformed into a tea-like substance used for medicinal, religious, political, cultural, and social purposes throughout the Pacific.

Today, kava has made its way to markets across the world. In addition to a kava drink, there are an assortment of kava-flavored products that are gaining popularity, such as kava gummies, capsules, and chocolates.

“Initially we bought kava from a local exporter to meet the demand,” Shirly said. However, as the orders for kava started to grow, she decided to invest in producing kava locally herself to source and export it.

“We help farmers,” Shirly said. “We buy kava from nearly 2,000 farmers from across Solomon Islands provinces.”

Shirly has grown her export business, Solkava Exporters, steadily over the years by investing profits back into her business. She hopes her family business will grow sustainably and her daughters will one day take over.

“I do all of this for our daughters. The family business is something that helps us all,” Shirly said.

In 2019, Shirly participated in a trade fair hosted by Pacific Trade Invest New Zealand to showcase her kava. There, she made a deal with an exporter who bought her kava to sell in Florida. “He’s got the certification needed to export to the U.S.,” she explained.

Shirly would prefer to export Kava directly to the U.S. instead of going through the exporter in New Zealand. However, she needs a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP), a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-recognized certification to access U.S. markets.

SAID’s SCALE trade and investment activity in Solomon Islands works with local agribusinesses to improve their value chain, obtain licenses and certifications, advocate for more business-friendly regulations, and expand to new markets with a special emphasis on women’s participation in trade.

Shirly participated in USAID’s export promotion training series offered through the Solomon Islands Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The training helped her understand how to negotiate favorable terms of agreement, payment systems, and preferential treatment available for local businesses like hers.

“I decided to pursue a HACCP certification myself. I’m in stage three of the five stages. I hope to complete my certification in a year,” she said.

Two months ago, Shirly went on a USAID-funded business-to-business study tour to Los Angeles (LA) and Las Vegas. She met with potential buyers including Francis, a local kava bar owner in LA.

“I wanted him to take a few samples but he was reluctant to try it. I made a kava drink right there. He loved how it smelled. He said Solomon’s kava smells better than the stuff from Fiji,” she said, proudly.

Shirly sold a small batch to Francis, and they plan to work out a deal for him to import raw kava from her in the near future.

Shirly is proud of her kava business. In addition to creating an income for her family, it provides scores of farmers across Solomon Islands provinces with a reliable partner in Honiara.

“I want to grow from a family business to something bigger because when we grow, our farmers grow as well,” Shirly said.

*This article was first published by USAID via their website on 19 December 2023.