This has made it much more difficult to get trade store items and fuel. Also, there is no more market at Gloucester. There is a small government ship, the MV Arawe, which makes a bi-monthly run from Kimbe to Gloucester. You can imagine how expensive that is. Rice is now K2.50 per packet.
People still get money by selling copra.
They bring it all the way to Kimbe themselves. Also, Taiwanese entrepreneurs come around every once in a while buying bags of dried sea cucumbers from the people. They can get fairly good money for this. The European Union has helped a clan in Mareka start a portable saw mill project. This is one of the few business success stories.