Maiana’s relaxed, traditional way of life belies it proximity to Tarawa.  Apart from fishing, people may make a bit of money by collecting sea
cucumbers, a squishy, black creature that thrives in the Maiana lagoon, to be sold to China.  They also harvest and dry large quantities of
coconuts, which are used daily as food, animal feed and fuel.  The dried nut, called copra, is the country’s main export and is bought at the
atoll’s governmental control station for approximately $26 USD per sack.

The I-Kiribati find a wide array of other uses for coconut trees such as planks, thatch, cord, and even tooth picks.  Most islands boast a
wealth of breadfruit, papaya and banana trees.  Maiana also once had enough pits of the root plant babai to make it a dietary staple.  Today,
invading salt water has destroyed many of the freshwater pits, reducing babai to a treat for botakis.  Southern Maiana is home to “the lake,”
a wide, salt-encrusted expanse, formerly a coconut plantation, which is now partially filled with brackish water.  The lake was once protected
by a handmade, rock sea wall, but more frequent extreme high tides have broached the wall and rendered the land barren.

Villages dot the length of Maiana, a one-hour motorbike ride on its single dirt road, from the northernmost Tebikerai to the southernmost
Bubutei.  It is known throughout the country that the people of Bubetei will find any excuse to have a botaki.  Any birthday, mwaneaba
anniversary or visitor arrival results in a botaki.  The events involve a large feast, followed by speeches from various attendees and invariably
end in hours of dancing.  A new tradition allows any botaki attendee to give two hearty sprays of an aerosol can of their choice – usually
perfume but sometimes hair spray – and a ceremonial dose of baby powder on the name of the neck to any other attendee.  Both the
utmost expression of community feeling and a major social outlet, botakis are evidence that Kiribati culture is thriving.