Business serves society: Successful locally-driven development on customary land in the South Pacific

•Customary tenure can support economic activities that provide holistic returns to communities.•Customary tenure can be the basis for highly effective forms of economic development.•Customary land has inherent value as a tool for self-determined and inclusive development.•Locally-driven development on customary land can be a model for ‘alternative economic forms’.•How customary land is successfully used for business helps to reshape understanding of economies.