Louisa Castledine
Entrepreneur
Cook Islands
Raised on a remote atoll in the Pacific, Castledine studied commercial law and management in New Zealand, living there until her longing to return home became too strong to resist in 2019. Back in Rarotonga, she launched Ocean Toa, a company offering turtle and eagle ray encounters among coral reefs teeming with fish.
“Ocean Toa was birthed out of a childhood dream,” she says. “I was fortunate enough to have been raised in one of the most remote places in the world, Manihiki. And I was fortunate to have been raised in our family business, which was pearl farming. It was there that my deep connection to the ocean was birthed. My passion for what we do here at Ocean Toa stems from my upbringing. It’s about finding a fine balance between meeting tourist demand, but also protecting and looking after our animals and our environment at the same time.”
Her business has three pillars – the marine tours offered by Ocean Toa help fund Ocean Tamariki, which gives back to the community, and Ocean Tupuna – a platform to preserve the natural environment.
Returning home after living in Aotearoa, Castledine discovered many local children were disconnected from the sea, which had been her classroom when she was growing up.
“To be able to connect our local children back to their original roots is really the heart behind Ocean Tamariki,” she says. “The program offers free adventures and water safety courses for Rarotongan children. It also teaches local youth how to fish (but only take what they need) and aims to help grow young people who will be advocates for the ocean in years to come. Our mission is to educate our children, our future decision makers, in what it means to be a guardian and steward of our ocean. And we, as a business, aim to empower and equip them in ocean confidence.”
‘Ocean Toa’ means ocean warriors, ‘Tamariki’ are the children, while ‘Tupuna’ are the wise ancestors who act as guardians of the sea.
The Ocean Tupuna pillar of the business campaigns for better protection of the ocean and marine life. “Ocean Tupuna is our vision for conservation. But it is also our platform for voicing what matters and what is important to us. As well as acting out what it means to be an actual steward and guardian of our oceans. Our vision for Ocean Tupuna is to pivot our family pearl farm to expand into coral restoration.”
Castledine hopes the company’s three-pronged model will help usher in a more sustainable approach to the turquoise waters surrounding her island home.
“Our aim is to use our existing resources, our existing skill set in the islands, to move into an economy that is different. Rather than taking, we are shifting into an area where we give back to our environment.”
Castledine employs several of her siblings, as well as working alongside her husband, Mark Castledine. The venture is named after her youngest brother, Alberio, whose middle name is Toa. He’s the expert under the water, while Castledine is the expert with the books.
“As a family business, we play to our strengths. Our motivating factor and our drive is our children. Our need to provide for them, but also provide a future in which their home is preserved,” she says.
Castledine was the eldest of five children and was sent to high school in New Zealand when she was 15 years old. “As the firstborn there is a sense of responsibility to be the example in the family. I was able to study business and that’s where a lot of my drive comes from. But I had always known that my connection was always to the ocean.”
After Castledine and Mark married, she worked in a corporate role, and only spent brief holidays in remote tropical islands like the one she grew up on. After having three children, it felt natural for her to return to the Cook Islands with her family. “I felt like home called me back. And in calling me back, I was able to reconnect with our land and our ocean in a way that I could help start a family business with my younger siblings.”
For Castledine, the ocean has always been a healing space. “It’s a place where I can escape, where I’m completely weightless. You become one with the sea creatures that are in the water. They move slowly, gently and they create a sense of serenity.”
Visitors to Ocean Toa experience the different temperatures, currents and depths within the Avaavaroa Passage and the abundance of marine life in each habitat zone. Many come to see the endangered green sea turtles, which can live for a century, and the hawksbill sea turtles, which can grow more than a metre long.
“There’s a beautiful sense of coexistence between our visitors and our marine life,” Castledine says. For many families, swimming with turtles fulfils long-held dreams. “We love that we can create a pathway in which these families can fulfil their bucket list, but also encounter our marine life in a way that is long-lasting.”
Be Fruitful is another branch of the family business, which Castledine and Mark started in 2020. The company makes ice cream from local tropical fruit and brings it to the beachside in a mobile trailer.
Whether it’s selling ice cream or offering turtle tours, Castledine is happy to have uncovered the secret to spending time at the beach, surrounded by family each day.
“We’ve been able to create a lifestyle here in the islands that we absolutely love, where we are living life on our own terms, and where we get to enjoy this completely with our children. We get to be present in their everyday life. And to me, that is a life that is rich and fulfilled,” she says.
Keeping an eye on the future seems to deepen her appreciation of the present. “It’s about protecting resources for our children and our children’s children. Her connections with her family, her community and the natural environment of the Pacific remain the driving forces behind her entrepreneurship. “Our ‘why’ has always been focused around our family, around our children and around our roots. And if what we’re doing is meeting those values within our family, then we know we’re headed in the right direction.”
To discover all 49 SHE LEADS videos in the series, view them at pacifictradeinvest.com
