Season One of PEP Talk wraps up with a reflective conversation on purpose, governance, community work, and what we’ve learned along the way.

In this episode, Simon and Marie look back on a year spent working alongside purpose-led businesses, social enterprises, churches, and community leaders — people doing meaningful work, often under pressure and with limited resources.

We talk about:

• Why clarity matters more than more ideas

• The hidden governance load carried by Pacific and Indigenous organisations

• What it really takes to move from vision to proof of concept

• Lessons from launching PaCIVICa as a civic leadership pilot and trust

• Why learning by doing beats theory alone

This is a conversation about purpose in practice — not perfection, not hype, but real people building real things in real communities.

Thank you to everyone who has supported PEP Talk through Season One. Season Two returns in 2026.

(c) 2025 Pacific Enterprise People Ltd

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Capitalism promises progress — yet many of us feel the system is breaking under its own weight. In this episode of PEP Talk, Simon and Marie explore a different way forward, inspired by Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer.

Drawing from Indigenous worldviews, the Honorable Harvest, and our relationship with whenua, they unpack what a values-aligned, relational economy might look like — one that honours people, planet, and purpose.

You’ll hear about:

• Why capitalism leaves so many behind

• The Indigenous principle of reciprocity

• What it means to treat land and resources as kin

• The Honourable Harvest and its everyday relevance

• How business and Indigenous values can absolutely co-exist

If you’re exploring purpose-led leadership, social enterprise, or Indigenous thinking in modern business — this one will resonate.

✨ Join the PEP community: https://pep.nz

(c) 2025 Pacific Enterprise People Ltd

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Former Manu Samoa rugby player Pesetā Fa‘amātuainu To‘oto‘olea‘ava Lama Tone shares how a career-ending neck injury on the field redirected him toward a life of design, teaching, and cultural leadership. Now a Professor of Architecture at the University of Auckland and founder of New Pacific Architecture, Lama opens up about identity, resilience, and how Pacific concepts shape his work.

In this PEP Talk special (recorded in the Covid era, still completely evergreen), Lama reflects on:

• Growing up between Auckland and Samoa, and how village life shaped his values

• The injury in 2001 that left him briefly paralyzed and ended professional rugby

• Returning to university as a mature student, relearning essays, and rediscovering curiosity

• Being the only Pacific student in his architecture class and turning that tension into purpose

• His Master’s thesis, “Designing with Pacific Concepts,” and why culture belongs in contemporary design

• Navigating rejection during the global financial crisis and launching New Pacific Architecture

• The Pacific legacy of navigation — from wayfinding on the ocean to charting a career on land

If you’re looking for a story about reinvention, cultural pride, and creative grit, this one’s for you.

(c) 2025 Pacific Enterprise People Ltd

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.