Sili is situated inland, unlike most villages in Samoa which are settlements by the sea.

Due to its location away from the coast, fishing has minimal impact on the village economy.

[3] In recent years, Sili rejected a scheme by the government of Samoa to build a hydroelectric plant on village land[4] due to environmental and cultural factors.

The hydro project had received backing from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) which had been assisting the Samoan government and its Electric Power Corporation (EPC) to make high priority investment in renewable energy project.

Village chiefs (matai) claimed the scheme would pollute their water and ruin the environment.