In the past, Bajo from Mola and Mantigola sailed from their home villages to Pepela and used it as a base for fishing voyages into the Timor Sea. While in Pepela waiting for suitable weather conditions, the men lived on their perahu and re-provisioned with firewood and freshwater. A Mantigola villager, Si Suleyman, was the first Bajo to settle in Pepela, having married a local Pepela woman in the 1950s. The main period of Bajo settlement did not begin until the late 1980s, when a number of them moved permanently from Mola, Mantigola and La Manggau villages and built or rented houses at Pepela. This migration was the result of economic, political and cultural changes in the practice of shark fishing.

In late 1994 there were 42 houses in the Bajo community on the Tanjung. Of these, three were unoccupied and one was being used as a warung (small food stall). In addition, there were seven Bajo houses in Kampung Baru, and five in the main part of Pepela. In total, the Bajo occupied 50 homes in Pepela with a population of about 292 people (134 adults and 158 children). Of all the households surveyed, the majority of Bajo living in Pepela came from Mola Selatan (28 households), with lesser numbers originating from Mola Utara (8 households), Mantigola (10 households) and La Manggau (2 households). ^[10] The village of origin for two houses was unknown. Most families in the survey said they had been living in Pepela for a period of 1–3 years, with a minority having lived there for 4–5 years.

The Bajo settlement on the Tanjung consists of two main rows of houses facing the sea (Plate 2-6). These homes are very basic in construction, most of them raised off the sand and made of panels of thatched palm. Some structures amount to little more than one room shacks. This reflects the temporary function they serve for the Bajo. Some houses in Kampung Baru are not raised off the ground and have dirt floors. The few Bajo houses in the main part of the village are generally better constructed and consist of larger wooden homes on stilts.

At high tide, the Tanjung is partly separated from the main part of the village by a channel which cuts through the sandy beach and winds around in an arc behind the Bajo settlement. This channel allows small boats to enter behind the village and provides added protection from weather conditions during the west monsoon. A small walkway has been placed over this channel to allow pedestrian access to the Tanjung at high tide, but even this is under water when the tides are very high, and it is then necessary to travel a short distance by canoe to reach the main village.

There is no fresh water supply on the Tanjung, and this is a major problem for the Bajo. The office of the local camat (sub-district) is hesitant to provide any services because it has no assurance that the Bajo will stay permanently. The argument is that the Bajo could easily leave Pepela if the fishing situation changed. Consequently, those Bajo who report to the local desa office are only given visitor status, and only a few Bajo have decided to take up permanent residency.

The Bajo women and children have found it difficult living on the Tanjung, and although the conditions are similar to those in the Tukang Besi Islands, the general environment is poor. There are no toilets, fresh water must be purchased from local traders, and the women usually have to walk a kilometre or so even to wash their clothes. Only a few children attend the local primary school. The women reported that fish and marine products are scarcer around Pepela than in the Tukang Besi Islands, and there is a general shortage of food in Pepela in contrast to Mola and Mantigola, particularly during the dry season, which is the main fishing season and hence the period when the population is at its highest. The nearest market is a 20-minute bus ride away. Vegetables are sold by local Rotinese from house to house and fish caught locally are sold directly on the beach. Often there is competition among women to purchase the catch. During the east monsoon, dried shark meat and dried reef fish brought back from fishing trips in the Timor Sea form a staple part of the Bajo (and local Pepelan) diet.