Anse-à-Galets (Kreyòl: Ansagalèt; English: "Pebble Cove") is a city located on the island of La Gonâve, off the Gulf Coast of Haiti. Part of the Western Department, the island is coextensive with the La Gonâve Arrondissement and is separated from the mainland by Port-au-Prince Bay. It is renowned for its immaculate white-sand beaches and quiet natural serenity.
Location in Haiti
Welcome sign
Overview[]
Anse-à-Galets was settled in 1964 and was granted municipal status in 1987.
The town includes the village of Anse-à-Galets, as well as the hamlets of Petit-Anse, Palma, Petit-Source, and Grand-Source. It also includes part of the incorporated village of Grand-Lagon.
Anse-à-Galets is renowned for its immaculate white-sand beaches. Paired with the hot and steamy climate of the island, it is a tourist destination. Other parts of Anse-à-Galets's coastline are populated by colonies of large boulders with prominent cliff-faces dripping with abundant vegetation.
Geography[]
Anse-à-Galets is located at 18.8341° N, 72.8663° W. According to the IHSI, the commune has a total land area of 372.01 square kilometers (143.63 square miles), of which 302.56 km² (88%) is rural, 67.00 km² (18%) is suburban, and 2.45 km² (1%) is urban. Surrounded by water in every direction except due west, the town has 106 miles (160 km) of coastal shoreline. Anse-à-Galets is bordered to the west by its only neighbor, the town of Pointe-à-Raquette, and by Canal de Saint-Marc to the north, Port-au-Prince Bay to the east and Canal de Gonâve to the south. The town has six communal sections, most located at the water's edge.
Anse-a-Galets communal map
Neighborhoods[]
| AAG | Anse-à-Galets | 62,559 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| VAG | Ville de L'anse à Galets | 49,050 | |
| PMA | 1ère Section Palma | 2,555 | Bel Platon, Bois Brûlé, Bois Chandelle, Bois Crédit, Boucan Cache, Boucan Patate, Boucan-St Louis, Ca Charles, Ca Nibo, Charles Blanc, Fond Lundi, Fond Trou Jacques, Grand Caille, Grande Plaine, Mare Legu, Nan Canne, Nan Doval, Nan François, Nan Mangot, Nan Molo, Nouvelle Cité, Palma, Pété Fiel, Place-du-Marché, Plume Trou-Jacques, Terre Chaude, Ti Force, Trésor, Trou à l'Eau |
| PSO | 2ème Section Petit-Source | 2,507 | Bois-d'Orme, Bois Pin, Bord-Parc, Desmangles, Devallon, Fond-Tina, Fregate, Grand-Mapou, Lacour-Joseph, Mantenoir, Mare Sucre, Nan Bois-de-Chene, Passe-Voleur, Petite, Petite-Cotelete, Source, Ti Source, Trou d'Enfer |
| GSC | 3ème Section Grande-Source | 2,131 | Grande Saline, Grande Source, Herbe-Guinée, L'Autre Bord d'L'Eau, Nan Café, Nan Plume, Nan Risque, Nan Zamor, Plaine-Aux-Etroits, Plaine-des-Mapous, Tomarin |
| GLA | 4ème Section Grand-Lagon | 4,233 | Abricots, Bois Brulé, Bousinette, Ca Léon, Calnadère, Chérissable, Deux-Baleines Nord, Double, Grand Lagon, La Cayenne, La Cour Longue, Laferrière, L'Eternel, Nan Boeuf, Nan Jésus, Nan Lavaud, Nan Louisane, Nan Poule, Nan Zèbre, Plaine-Grand-Lagon, Plaisance, Richard, Saline, Terre Sèche, Ti Coma, Ti Fort Nègre, Ti Palmiste |
| PIC | 740 | L'autre-Bord-d'l'eau, Nan Bayahonde, Nan Plume, Picmi, Platon Balais, Trou Jacques | |
| PAN | 1,343 | Anse-Edouard, Au Parc, Boucan-Légume, Boucan-Risque, Chadonette, Derosa, Fond-Plaisir, Lan Camachine, Libéral, Nan Bébé, Nan Belle-Rose, Nan Cotton, Nan Simera, Petite-Anse, Platon-L'aurore, Platon-l'étang, Pointe-Fantasque, Terre-Blanche, Trou Constanton. |
Demography[]
The inhabitants call themselves Ansois / Ansoises
| Year | Popualation | +/- |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 52,662 | |
| 2009 | 56,890 | +8% |
| 2015 | 62,559 | +9% |
Environment[]
Gulf of La Gonâve, Haiti
Climate[]
Anse-à-Galets has a tropical savanna climate, which has monthly mean temperature above 18 C (64 F) in every month of the year and typically a pronounced dry season, with the driest month having precipitation of less than 60mm (2 inches). This climate is considered to be Aw according to the Köppen-Geiger climate classification. The temperature in Anse à Galets varies so little throughout the year that it is not entirely meaningful to discuss hot and cold seasons.
The average annual rainfall in Anse-àGalets is 1006.5 mm (40 inches), qualified as good enough for most crops, but with a very poor distribution.
Anse-à-Galets climate graph
Infrastructure[]
Anse-à-Galets's infrastructure is pretty well-developed by Haitian standards. Several non-government organizations have funded a hospital, town plaza, and orphanage for abandoned children.
Healthcare
The Wesleyan Hospital
The Ministry of Public Health and Population is not represented in the commune of Anse-à-Galets. There is a hospital, a clinic, and two no-bed health centers. Five Doctors, six nurses, seventeen Auxiliaries, and four Laboratory technicians form the sanitary technical staff of the establishments listed in the commune.
Since its founding in 1948 by the Wesleyan Mission, the Wesleyan Hospital has provided basic health services through resident medical staff and visiting teams of specialists.
Transportation
One of the few small towns to have an airport, Anse-à-Galets Airport, its airstrip plays host to charter planes arriving from Port-au-Prince.
Market day; Anse-a-Galets, Haiti
In one of the rare exceptions to road transport systems in small towns throughout Haiti, Anse-à-Galets has decent roads, comprised of uncemented gravel. This points out the difference between accessible and inaccessible road surfaces as encouraging, or discouraging NGOs to come and offer their services to build and strengthen town infrastructures. In addition, the town's airstrip, able to receive charter flights from Port-au-Prince, also makes a difference in the amount of economic aid the town receives.
Education
College Charles Wesley
The Ministry of National Education for Youth and Sports is represented in the commune of Anse-à-Galets by an inspector and an adviser. The commune has at least 46 schools, totaling four kindergartens, 31 primary schools (mostly private) and eleven secondary schools.
College Charles Wesley is a presbyterial school with classes ranging from kindergarten through the twelth grade. Construction has begun for a bakery to support the schools on La Gonave.
Utilities
For water availability, seven sources and twenty-eight public fountains with more than one hundred taps were counted at the commune level. The town of Anse-à-Galets is not electrified.
Security
At the level of administrative and judicial infrastructure, the commune has a peace court, a police station and a Civil state office.
Economy[]
For economic and financial infrastructure, the municipality has three restaurants, three reception centers, a bank, a credit union and two marketing co-operatives. The economic establishments include a gas station, a private morgue, six pharmacies, a dry cleaning, two photo studios and a beauty studio.
The Anse-à-Galets and Pointe-à-Raquettes markets are the main commercial centers serving the populations of the island of La Gonâve. Vendors (wholesalers and retailers) open their businesses almost every day of the week, with busy peak days: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. Food products are supplied from the port of Carriès, where boats travel between there and Anse-à-Galets, and the products come directly from Arcahaie and/or Gonaïves mainly and are stocked by wholesalers in Anse-à-Galets. Many of the vendors in Anse-à-Galets are wholesalers and own warehouses with limited space for retail sales. On the other hand, in Pointe-à-Raquettes, there mostly are retailers with almost no place to store their food products, while they have large spaces for resale. Hence, in terms of commercial structures, the wholesalers of Anse-à-Galets mostly and gradually supply the island’s retailers and merchants in general.
Culture[]
Religion
The town has at least 123 churches, with Wesleyan churches proving to be more numerous.
Politics and organizations
At last count, the town had two popular organizations, a peasant group, and six NGOs.
Communications
In the field of Communication, it has a telephone office with four lines available (four cabins). There is no post office. It has one radio station, however it does not have a newspaper/magazine, nor a television station.
Leisure
As for Culture and Leisure, the municipality has no library, no museum, no theatre and cinema. The only sport played is football (soccer). Elsewhere, it is one of the municipalities to have a great stadium in good condition for the practice of this sport. Sixteen Gaguères, a night club, a public square and a cave were also found in the commune.
References[]
Eglise Methodiste d' Haiti [1]
World Vision Emergency Food Security Program in La Gonâve, Haiti [2]
Michael Vedrine