To experience the
actual day-to-day lifestyle of the average Papua New Guinean villager
it is necessary to spend a few days living in a village. The best way
to do this is by staying in a village guest house, where you can observe
the daily goings-on around you, or better still, a village homestay, which
will enable you to actually participate in the daily lives of a village
family. Staying in a guest house you are always one level above the ordinary
villagers, but a village homestay is the most authentic ecotourism experience
because it allows you to get very close to the local culture and environment
without impacting significantly upon it.
A village homestay
sometimes consists of a guest room in the home of a village family, but
more commonly there is a guest bungalow built in the same style as the
other village houses, usually situated next to the host family's house.
The guest bungalow usually has the same basic furnishings as the other
houses in the village, though the guest is provided with a separate toilet
and water for bathing. Village-style meals are provided - sometimes as
basic as a plate of boiled yam, other times a selection of deliciously-cooked
meats and vegetables. Breakfast (tea and village bread, or sometimes yam
again!) is usually taken in the guest bungalow and other meals may be
taken with the host family, although in most PNG cultures there is no
tradition of families sitting down to eat together at a table (once the
plates of food are served it's every man for himself, and the women eat
later!).
While experiencing
a homestay, guests are given the option of accompanying members of the
host family on their normal routines (gardening, fishing etc), or visiting
some of the points of interest in the area. Regardless of how the days
are passed, a few days' stay at a village homestay gives visitors a deep
insight into the PNG lifestyle.
There are only
a few genuine village homestays currently operating in PNG. (Village stays
are more numerous and well established in the Solomon
Islands).
PNG village homestays
include:
Tufi
Village Homestays, Oro Province
Faiava Village
Stay, Goodenough Island, Milne Bay Province
Moveave Village
Stay, near Malalaua, Gulf Province
A number of excellent
village stays are located in Madang Province
Some village guest
houses which we recommend:
Kanganaman
Village Guest House, East Sepik Province
| ARTICLES
ON VILLAGE STAYS IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA |
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| *Published
in "Paradise", the in-flight magazine of Air Niugini
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