HARBEL

town, west-central Liberia, West Africa. It lies along the Farmington River, 15 miles (24 km) upstream from the Atlantic. Since 1926 it has been the centre of the vast Firestone rubber plantation operation. Liquid latex and crepe rubber are shipped via the company's river port to Monrovia (32 miles west) for export. At Harbel, Firestone operates a hospital, a hydroelectric power plant, a botanical research division, and a transatlantic radio service; it also maintains roads, housing, schools, and a literacy program. Roberts International Airport and the Liberian Institute of Tropical Medicine (1952) are at Robertsfield, 2 miles southwest. Pop. (1974) 11,445.