Tauranga company Heilala Vanilla with close ties to Tongan community donates $25k

A woman in Tonga shared video online of the volcanic ash darkening the sky before the tsunami struck. Video / Nightingale Filihia

The first thing Jennifer Boggiss did when she heard about the eruption of an underwater volcano off the coast of Tonga was pick up the phone.

But there was no way to contact the more than 20 employees and 300 farmers in Tonga who work with Heilala Vanilla.

Boggiss is chief executive of the Tauranga-based vanilla company. It has plantations in Tonga and a presence in Vava'u and 'Eua.

She said hearing of the eruption of underwater volcano Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai, about 65km north of Tonga's capital Nuku'alofa on Saturday felt "surreal".

The eruption sent thick ash and steam 20km into the sky and created a tsunami.

As of this afternoon two deaths have been confirmed but there were still parts of Tonga where communication remained difficult or non-existent.

Heilala Vanilla set up the Heilala Vanilla Foundation as an aid project partnering with the people of Vava'u in 2013. Since Saturday's eruption, it has put $25,000 into the foundation to support the Tongan community.

Boggiss said the company had been "overwhelmed" with support after it launched the appeal for Tonga on Monday night with more than $12,000 donated in less than 24 hours.

"I hope we're in a position to be able to offer some support once we know what's actually required."

She believed the immediate relief would come from the Government and large agencies helping with food and water.

Heilala Vanilla would likely focus on food and water security, she said - things like seedlings and long-life food.

Boggiss said the company was worried about what would happen to the people, communities and their livelihoods following the eruption.

Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai volcano in Tonga erupting. Photo / Tongan Navy

She said it was still unclear what impact this would have on the business but, from a business perspective, the worst-case scenario would be no supply this coming year.

Heilala chief executive Jennifer Boggiss in Vava'u plantation alongside Tongan team. Photo / Supplied

However, there were plantations in multiple areas in Tonga and Boggiss said it was unlikely they would all be impacted and the company also had supply partners in other countries.

There were more than 20 people on the team in Tonga who worked with more than 300 vanilla farmers, she said.

Boggiss said she understood the places the company had a home — Vava'u and 'Eua — were not badly impacted, but it was unclear what happened on the surrounding smaller islands.

"We have really close ties particularly with a couple of communities on Vava'u where we have a home. They're like family," she said.

Boggiss said from a business perspective, it was lucky the annual crop had already been harvested and the plants were "hardy".

The crop was now in its early stages on the vine.

However, it was unclear what ash did to the plant health and the company was working with Plant and Food Research which was liaising with volcanologists, researching the impact of ash on plants.

Another aspect would also be how much the saltwater spray affected crops.

Heilala team in Tonga at one of the plantations. Photo / Supplied

"It won't just be vanilla that's impacted, it's people's food security, and that's the biggest concern."

Boggiss said her team knew many of the growers and exporters and "we really feel for them".

"We will absolutely not move somewhere else, we're committed to Tonga."

Meanwhile, families in the Bay of Plenty are worried and feeling helpless as they are unable to contact their loved ones in Tonga.

Katikati's Simione Vakasiuola just wanted to hear his families voices again.

He's lived in New Zealand with his immediate family since 1993 and his extended family still live in Tonga however, he said his family lived on higher ground and he believed they were safe.

"It's the unknown; the uncertainty that's hurting us.

"We know that they are fine, but that's not enough - we want to hear their voices. Hearing their voices would be comfort for us and we'll know they're really okay."

Like other families in New Zealand, he hadn't heard from loved ones since the eruption.

"Every year we have cyclones [in Tonga], but the tsunami is more scary."

He said the nation was used to natural disasters and he believed the people would be able to get through it.

Heilala team hand-pollinating vanilla flowers. Photo / Supplied

He planned to catch the next flight home to visit family for the first time since the pandemic.

"When anything happens to your home, your first reaction is to see what you can do to help," he said.

"The Tongan community is looking how we can help our family at home, at the moment we don't know."