Ecotourism Melanesia’s PAPUA NEW GUINEA
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,Orotoaba Village Homestay, Kokoda Mountain View Lodges, 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 *Published in "Paradise", the in-flight magazine of Air Niugini
MORE INFORMATION
ECOTOURISM MELANESIA LTD
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Four Mile Hill, National Capital District, Papua New Guinea
(Postal address: PO Box 24 Waigani NCD)
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