Trails
People in the Bebeli area use trails to walk to other villages. Since the language area is geographically spread out, people in each village use different trails. People in Morokea live so close to Kimbe that they
walk there, instead of going by car. They reported that to walk to Kimbe from their village takes from five to ten minutes. Those in Morokea also walk to Ruango, a Bola village about one kilometre north,
and Morokea Village Oil Palm VOP.
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People in Mosa reportedly walk only to Gaongo, a Bola village on the main road. People in Banaule reportedly walk to Buluma supermarket and village, Mai Mission and
other nearby places.
Water Travel
Although the Bebeli area is relatively near the coast, people do not often travel by water. People in Mosa and Banaule reported that they never travel by water. Those in Morokea reported that they sometimes
travel to Talasea, Kombe or Bali Island by dinghy or to Bali Island, Rabaul, Buka, Lae or Kavieng by ship. It costs 140 kina
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to travel by ship to Rabaul, and 250 kina
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to travel by ship to Buka. People in Morokea and Banaule reported that they sometimes use canoes to go fishing in the ocean.
Summary of transportation
Bebeli speakers have easy access to several kinds of transportation. The highway between Kimbe and Hoskins runs within five kilometres of all three Bebeli villages, and public transportation on this
highway is affordable. There is an airstrip in Hoskins, only a ten-minute drive from Banaule village, and many people have reportedly flown from there. Residents of Morokea are able to walk to Kimbe, and
people in all three villages travel to other places by foot. Bebeli speakers are also able to travel outside their language area by ship, although they do not often do so. The fact that Bebeli speakers can easily
travel to population centres where they have contact with speakers of other languages could pose a threat to the vitality of the Bebeli language.
4.1.3 Economics
According to Landweer, language communities that do not need to use a second language to meet their perceived economic needs typically have higher language vitality than those that are dependent on an
economic base outside the language area 2006:209. The Bebeli people can meet some of their economic needs from within their own area; however, they also have much contact with the outside Tok
Pisin-speaking world, which could have a negative effect on language vitality. Many Bebeli people still tend gardens, which provide the majority of their food. Within each village,
people can buy fish, fruits, vegetables, tobacco and betel nut from each other, and these interactions take place in both Tok Pisin and Bebeli. There are around twenty trade stores in the Bebeli area: seven in
Morokea, two in Mosa and around ten in Banaule. People from all three villages buy food, clothing and other items from stores and the market in Kimbe. Only a few Bebeli people are employed in stores in
Kimbe. Bebeli people no longer trade with people from other villages or language areas. The palm oil industry has a major presence in and around the Bebeli area. Much garden land has
been cleared, and oil palm trees planted. Many settlements inhabited by industry workers have been established throughout the area. Although the industry was established in the 1960s, it employs very few
Bebeli people – only a doctor from Morokea and two truck drivers from Mosa. However, people are able to earn money by harvesting and selling the oil palm fruits. People also grow and sell other cash crops:
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A settlement established by employees of the local oil palm industry.
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Approximately US53.20
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Approximately US95
coconuts and cacao beans. People speak Tok Pisin when selling coconuts, cacao beans and oil palm fruits.
A small proportion of the Bebeli population has left the area to work elsewhere. At the time of the survey, seventeen Bebeli men and four Bebeli women were living outside of the language area in order
to work. See Table 5 for a breakdown of the number of work emigrants by village and destination. Approximately one percent of the adult Bebeli population
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has left the Bebeli area to work. Table 5. Work emigrants
Morokea Mosa Banaule Mens
totals Morokea Banaule Womens
totals Grand
totals
Moresby 2
2 2
6 1
1 7
Kavieng 5
5 5
Lae 2
2 2
2 4
Wabag 1
1 1
Goroka 1
1 1
Rabaul 1
1 1
Sepik 1
1 1
Chimbu 1
1 1
Totals by Village
9 2
6 17
1 3
4 21
4.1.4 Health services
