i.
The matai's duty
A title comes with obligation. The family supports the matai; the matai serves the family. This makes that contract material — not symbolic, not optional.
$10 from every piece funds Starlink internet for the village. Saoluafata first, then future houses. Co-governed with the village council. Reported every December. A transparent line item — not vague charity.
A matai is given a title because the family trusts him to serve them back. The work it does now is connect the village to the family that left it. The means is internet. The reason is older than internet.
A title comes with obligation. The family supports the matai; the matai serves the family. This makes that contract material — not symbolic, not optional.
Most Samoans alive today do not live in Samoa. Starlink in the village means elders see their grandchildren, students reach courses, the council reaches the diaspora.
The program is blessed by the Tagaloa family of titles. The name is used with consent, reviewed annually. A check on the brand, not a marketing claim.
We use a fixed per-unit figure rather than a vague percentage; it makes the math legible to you, to the village, and to anyone auditing the program.
One piece sold = $10 into the program. A sold-out 250-piece drop = $2,500. None of the $10 is consumed by overhead — every dollar lands as hardware or service, logged to the open ledger and reconciled in the annual report.
| i · You buy the piece | $95 |
|---|---|
| ii · Cost of goods | ~$32 |
| iii · Operations & brand | ~$53 |
| → To Tagaloa Connect | $10 |
Starlink was licensed to provide service in Samoa in January 2025. Tagaloa Connect will use approved local channels for hardware, service, and deployment. Each terminal is mounted at an agreed location and configured with a Matai-branded welcome page for the village and the diaspora.
| Hardware | Starlink Standard kit · ~$599 est. |
|---|---|
| Speed | ~100–200 Mbps down |
| Service | ~$130 / month est. |
| Ownership | Held by the village council |
| Access | Free for the village · always |
Aiga members can match the program directly. Each commitment is tied to real hardware on the ground. Receipts issued, recognition on the annual report, optional naming of the terminal you funded.
Covers the monthly service fee for one terminal in the village. A small recurring gift. Cancel anytime.
Start MonthlyOne full year of service on one terminal. Your name on the annual report, optional dedication, photos from the village.
Give AnnualHardware and the first six months of service for a brand-new location. Choose the house; we work with the council to place it.
Fund OnePrograms like this fail when the founder controls the spending and the village receives the press releases. We built the governance the other way around. Open books — every dollar, both directions.
The village council approves every deployment, site, and change.
The Tagaloa family blessing is renewed annually — not granted once.
A nonprofit is being structured to hold funds and hardware — not the founder.
If the brand fails, the terminals remain with the village.
The running ledger and program structure are published below — every dollar, both directions.
The program ledger opens with Drop 001 · Lagi and is reconciled and published in full in the annual report each December. This is the opening state.
| Date | Source | Received | Deployed | Balance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Jun 2026 | Opening balance | $0 | $0 | $0 | Drop 001 · Lagi pending close |
| Holding entity | Nonprofit being structured · name to be confirmed |
|---|---|
| Registration | To be confirmed on registration |
| Banking & accounting | To be confirmed |
| Hardware ownership | To be held by the Saoluafata village council · agreement being finalised |
| Council approval | Each deployment, site, and change approved by the village council |
The program is being structured so that funds and hardware sit with a nonprofit and the village — not the founder. Until that entity is registered, this page says so plainly.
As each item above is completed — entity, registration, banking, the hardware-ownership agreement — it is published here and carried into the annual report.