Kava bars are popping up around the world, as far away as New York City and the Rocky Mountains in the USA.

That’s creating jobs in the Pacific and economic opportunity for Pasifika people living abroad.

Like ‘Anau Mesui Henry, who started a kava lounge in Aotearoa inspired by her parents who used the plant to find their community after migrating from Tonga.

Or Ronald Nauruan, who hopes to one day sell the kava from his farm in Vanuatu to the Australian market – something that kava trade specialist Tanuvasa Semy Mauga Siakimotu helps farmers do all the time.

So does the cultural and ceremonial significance of kava suffer if it becomes just another product on the shelf, and can we stop that from happening by teaching people the true meaning of kava?

Culture Compass was produced by Deadset Studios for ABC Radio Australia.