Story

Papua New Guinea: Life In and Around Tari

January 23, 2013 | Pulitzer Center
By
Céline Rouzet, for the Pulitzer Center

A young woman in Hides 4, Hela Province. Image by Céline Rouzet. Papua New Guinea, 2012.

Kayabe in front of his reed house, in Hides 4, Hela Province. Image by Céline Rouzet. Papua New Guinea, 2012.

A woman selling chicken in Tari. In Papua New Guinea, 85 percent of the population still depend on the informal economy for a living. Image by Céline Rouzet. Papua New Guinea, 2012.

A Huli man in Tari's only superstore. Image by Céline Rouzet. Papua New Guinea, 2012.

Tari's only superstore. Image by Céline Rouzet. Papua New Guinea, 2012.

A Huli man in Tari's only superstore. Image by Céline Rouzet. Papua New Guinea, 2012.

Men gather near dartboards in Tari. Image by Céline Rouzet. Papua New Guinea, 2012.

Tari's only superstore. Image by Céline Rouzet. Papua New Guinea, 2012.

Outside the resource sector, Hela is one of the poorest parts of Papua New Guinea. Image by Céline Rouzet. Papua New Guinea, 2012.

A bicyclist in Hela. Image by Céline Rouzet. Papua New Guinea, 2012.

Liquified natural gas exploration in Papua New Guinea has led to significant investments by Exxon Mobil, but the costs may outweigh the benefits for the local population. These photographs show scenes from life in Tari, the capital of Hela Province, during the first phase of the Exxon Mobil project.