PCC activities let one do as the natives do

Visitors can climb a coconut tree, or learn to make laulau or a Hawaiian quilt

By Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Oct 09, 2011

~~<p>Kapeneta “Kap” Suli Teo-Tafiti can scoot up a 40-foot coconut tree in less than 20 seconds — pretty amazing for a 44-year-old guy who has the build of an NFL linebacker.</p>
<p>“I was about 6 years old when I first started climbing coconut trees,” said Teo-Tafiti, who is originally from Samoa. “Being able to climb trees and get coconuts was a way to prove you were a man. When my mom wanted niu mamata, or young coconuts, I had to be man enough to climb the tree to get it for her. It was kind of a rite of passage.”</p>
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<h3>IF YOU GO…</h3>
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Kapeneta “Kap” Suli Teo-Tafiti can scoot up a 40-foot coconut tree in less than 20 seconds — pretty amazing for a 44-year-old guy who has the build of an NFL linebacker.

“I was about 6 years old when I first started climbing coconut trees,” said Teo-Tafiti, who is originally from Samoa. “Being able to climb trees and get coconuts was a way to prove you were a man. When my mom wanted niu mamata, or young coconuts, I had to be man enough to climb the tree to get it for her. It was kind of a rite of passage.” IF YOU GO… Login for more...