Local markets are an important part of everyday life across the Pacific - as they are in Asia.

In the Cook Islands capital Rarotonga, the Punanga Nui market is the place to be on Saturday mornings.

Female stall holder: We love being hereevery Saturday, not only to provide food to the people but also meeting a lot of people.

Male market visitor: It's just a good place to eat, mix with the locals, you know, catch up with friends, especially with a hard Friday night out.

Clement Paligaru: The market is open six days a week. Saturday is the busiest, with more than 100 stall holders and thousands of visitors. Manager Elmah McBirney is the market's biggest fan.

Elmah McBirney, market manager: Welcome to the market - this is one of the biggest stalls at the market and they sell everything. As you can see, they've got banana...

Clement Paligaru: Fresh produce?

Elmah McBirney: They've got pawpaws, cabbage ...everything really.

Clement Paligaru: But cooked food - especially traditional dishes - are the big favourites here.

Elmah McBirney: This is called a puke. This is a pawpaw.

Clement Paligaru: Pawpaw in coconut milk?

Elmah McBirney: Coconut cream fresh coconut cream.and then they bake it in oven.

Clement Paligaru: What's that over there?

Elmah McBirney: This one is the Rooko which is the taro top which is one of our main vegetables on the island.

Male market visitor: It's also a nice place to sit here and just people watch. It's also a way of sharing your culture. I mean you look around the market and you see handcrafted goods, people making ays, grass skirts.

Female stall holder: These wonderful garlands are what we wear in the evening when we go out. This is an accessory from the Cook Islands - so Kia Orana.

Elmah McBirney: We have here local crafts. I love this shop because a lot of things in this shop is from the coconut tree. Everything is not thrown away. The broom, you know, from the coconut tree; the hat is from the same thing - the leaves that are prepared and boiled and put in the sun. And the fans, the little ones, the big ones, the baskets.

Clement Paligaru: Many of these crafts come from the remote atolls of Cook Islands like Penrhyn in the north, over 1300 kilometres away, which specialises in these woven accessories.

Elmah McBirney: So it's marvellous. I mean, look at this one - this is a little handbag. It's beautiful, it goes with the island. I mean if you use something from Italy, it really doesn't go with the island, would it?

Clement Paligaru: So this would actually go with the fashions?

Elmah McBirney: That's right.

We must have the show - the show complete the whole market.

Female market visitor: It keeps the crowd entertained

Male English tourist: It's very good. It's something we've never really seen before, is it?

Female English tourist: Yeah, very good.

Elmah McBirney: I love to see smiles on everybody and this is just the people of the Cook Islands coming to the market, making ends meet for this week. not to make them rich, it's just to be happy - get this week over and next week they come again.