Vaʻa-o-Fonoti

Vaʻa-o-Fonoti
District
View of Uafato village at Fagaloa Bay
Map of Samoa showing Vaʻa-o-Fonoti district.
Country Samoa
Government
  Member of ParliamentMauʻu Siaosi Puʻepuʻemai
Population
 (2016)
  Total
1,621
Time zone+13

Vaʻa-o-Fonoti is a district on the north east coast of Upolu Island in Samoa, with a population (2016 Census) of 1,621, making it the least populated district in the country and the Second smallest one by area after Aiga-i-le-Tai.

The district is 38 km2 and consists of a main area around Fagaloa Bay with nine villages and a small coastal exclave about 10 km further northwest, with the village of Faleāpuna (pop. 582). The district includes areas with significant conservation and cultural values. Vaʻa-o-Fonoti geographical boundaries are surrounded by the larger district of Atua. The capital of Vaʻa-o-Fonoti is Samamea.

The small settlement of Uafato is part of the Uafato Conservation Area, a project started by the villagers in the early 1990s, to protect their environment from logging. The area has gained a reputation in the last decade for woodcarving and traditional arts and crafts in Samoa.