Jim Anderton, who was the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry at that time, did not support a ban and instead he left it up to consumer choice.
Vesi wood (Intsia bijuga), which grows natively on Kabara, is the traditional material, but deforestation has stripped the island, leaving only 8% of the island covered with Vesi trees.
In the lowland forest, large trees such as the Dao (Dracontomelon dao), Ipil (Intsia bijuga), Dita (Alstonia scholaris), Amugis (Koordersiodendrum pinnatum), and Apitong (Dipterocarpus gracilis) are common.
The tanoa is usually made from the wood of the ifilele tree (Intsia bijuga), a hard grained timber of a reddish brown colour.
The forests surrounding the village contains one of the largest remaining stands of a native hardwood tree ifilele (Intsia bijuga) with many uses in Samoan culture including housebuilding and carving.