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"Pa pale sa ou pa we ak prop je ou."
Never talk about something that you have not seen with your own eyes.
-Haitian proverb

Roche-à-Bateaux (Kreyol: Wòchabato) is a commune in the Southern Department of Haiti. It is part of the Côteaux Arrondissement. Roche-à-Bateau is located 50 km (31 miles) west of Les Cayes. This city of legendary delights and hospitality was founded in 1800 and had a population of 18,384, according to the 2015 census.

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Roche-à-Bateaux, Sud, Haiti



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Roche-a-Bateau

About[]

Roche-à-Bateau has been called "the other part of Haiti to visit." This city with clean streets enjoys electric light at night and comes alive in the holiday season with improvised parties. Sandwiched between Port-Salut and Côteaux, Roche-à-Bateau remembers its Polish history and works to revive during the festival with the dances and music which relive the Polish experience. The Rock-to-Batelaise communities of North America (Boston, Miami, Montreal, among others) attend the festival presented to and by their beloved city. Festival-goers occupy the seaside, with music, dance, and swimming. Fruits and artisanal products are traded.

Roche-à-Bateau has its public beach made of some tourist facilities styled in "Taino earth paradise". Every evening, beach dwellers sleep in the musical atmosphere of the waves and birds. A wonderful fishing village rubs shoulders with this pretty beach bombarded with shells and ultramarine sands. The conical roof houses planted on the edge of the coast or built in green forests immediately catch the eye. With its beautiful undeveloped white sand beaches, hospitality and natural tranquility, this region of the country does not make too much effort to charm its visitors. It is not much talked about. However, this region of the country is the other Haiti to discover. Located about 5 hours by car from Port-au-Prince, Roche-à-Bateau became a commune October 10, 1953 under President Paul Eugène Magloire.

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Location in Haiti

History[]

The lore of the name Roche-a-Bateau has two versions. In the first, it is said an exploring sailor chanced upon Roche-à-Bateau port. Learning the topography of the village, his imagination saw it resembled the shape of a boat, or bateau in French. In the second version, the harbor teemed with sea vessels from foreign shores, all bringing exports to market. In order to keep boats from hitting each other, the merchantmen placed rocks in the bottoms of the boats, and the name of the village, Bateau, then became Roche-à-Bateau, or boat of rocks in English.

Roche-à -Bateau is located on the southwest part of the Tiburon Peninsula of Haiti between Port-Salut and Côteaux, two other communes that are more developed but not more pleasant.

The town of Roche-à-Bateau was founded in 1800 and raised to the rank of commune in 1953.

Geography[]

Roche-à-Bateaux is located at 18.1818° N, 74.0028° W. According to the IHSI, this commune has a total land area of 46.54 square kilometers (17.97 square miles), of which 27.08 (58%) is suburban, 18.49 sq. km (40%) is rural, and 0.97 km2 (2%) is urban. It is bordered on the east by the town of Chantal, on the southeast by the town of Arniquet, and on the northwest by the city of Côteaux. It has three communal sections. The city center and the 1st section of Rose-Beaulieu are coastal. The other two communal sections, Renaudin and Boclos-Martinette, are inland. The topography of the city consists of plains and that of the communal sections is the hills. The climate of the town is considered tropical. On the west is the Windward Passage and the Caribbean Sea

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Commune map of Roche-à-Bateaux, Haiti

Demographics

Its inhabitants are called Roche-à-Batelais.

Year Population +/-
1998 19,676
2002 19,085 -3%
2009 16,727 -12%
2015 18,394 +10%
2018 21,561 +17%


Economy[]

At the level of Economic and Financial Infrastructures, the municipality has only one marketing cooperative. The residents of the village engage in agriculture, as well as raising livestock and operating fish hatcheries. Agriculture, livestock, trade and fishing are the main economic activities of the municipality. There is no bank, hotel, board, etc. No commercial bank or money transfer house is interested in Roche-à-Bateau. Business opportunities are legion. Most houses are covered with sheet metal, but well built and well aligned. The DGI has only one agent housed in the premises of the town hall.

Pistachio, millet, banana, figs, and trees, among others, are grown here. The commune has its economic activity at the main markets of Carpentier and Rosier.


Infrastructure[]

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Roche-a-Bateau

Education

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National School of Roche-a-Bateau

The Ministry of National Education of Youth and Sports, is not represented in the commune of Roche à Bateau. The commune has a high school, two national schools, two congregational primary schools and two other private schools.

After classical studies, young people from Roche-à-Bateau have to go to Les Cayes or Port-au-Prince if they want to enroll in a university or a vocational school.

Health

The Ministry of Public Health and Population is not represented in the commune. There is a small clinic, with two assistants and a laboratory technician, that serves the population. If one falls ill, it is in Port-Salut or Les Cayes that one must go. That said, Roche-à-Bateau does not have the appropriate sanitary infrastructure.

Utilities and Communication

As for the water potential, the town has three rivers, sixteen springs, a pond, two lagoons, and more than three dozen wells and public fountains.

The city center receives daily between 11 and 14 hours of power through a hybrid power plant (solar panels and engines using diesel). The Coteaux District Cooperative (CEAC) produces and sells electricity for three municipalities, including Roche-à-Bateau. Roche-à-Bateaux has a sanitation service, a postal office and a radio station. It has no newspaper / magazine or television station.

Security

For administrative infrastructures, the National Police of Haiti (PNH) is not represented in the commune.

Two justices of the peace and a registrar of civil status are housed at the town hall. At the police station, two policemen ensure the safety of approximately 20,000 inhabitants living in Roche-à-Bateau and its three communal sections: Beaulieu, Renodin and Boklo. However, in case of emergency, the police of the neighboring communes of Port-Salut and Côteaux can always come in reinforcement. According to the mayor, there are no gangs in this commune, but petty thieves who burglarize houses at night in the absence of their owners.

Culture[]

Religion

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Church in Roche-a-Bateau

Roche-à-Bateau is predominately a Christian community, and its church, St.-Michel Roche-à-Bateau, has an interesting history. Residents of the village, around the turn-of- the-century, saw a connection between the name of the town, meaning boat of rocks, and the Catholic gospels, in which Christ's disciples were fishermen, and St. Peter the rock of the early Christian church. The bishop of Roche-à-Bateau saw the connection as well and agreed to build a church. Twice the church was destroyed by hurricanes, but has been rebuilt as a proud symbol of the town and Catholic community. The commune has six other Catholic churches (including chapels), three Episcopal churches, five Baptist churches, two Adventist churches, four Pentecostal churches, two Wesleyan churches, a Kingdom Hall (Jehovah's Witness) and a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormon) -Christ of the Saints of the last day.

Organizations

The commune has sixteen popular organizations, two peasants groups and two womens groups.

Nonporfit: DnB [1]

Leisure

As for Leisure, the commune of Roche à Bateau has no library, no museum, no theater nor cinema. Roche-à-Bateau has a small public square and several nightclubs, but above all, it is the sea, the hot sand and football (soccer) that are the main leisure activities for young people. In addition, the town celebrates its patron saint "St Michel" every 29th of September.

An annual festival held every year at the end of July for 13 years is the mythical rendezvous of the elders of the region.

The Source Hotel and Sparadis on the Rock are the two main hotels in Roche-à-Bateau with thirty rooms for both. Table-au-diable, an island of less than 5 square meters, is the main tourist site of the town. However, we can always take you to the Marie-Jeanne cave located in Port-à-Piment.

Social cohesion

The top factors that generate significant problems within the commune:

  • The main priority of Roche-à-Bateau, alternating between a drinking water supply system the strengthening of agriculture.
  • "Roche-à-Bateau's biggest problem is juvenile delinquency, which is perhaps linked to a lack of supervision. young people," a councilman said. According to him, politics divides society and the church feels the impact of this situation, especially during the election period.

According to some young people from Roche-à-Bateau, they are proud to be from this region of the country. But the beautiful beaches and the tranquility of the area are not enough for their happiness. The rest must follow: school, university, leisure, and jobs, among others.

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Neighborhoods

RAB Roche-à-Bateaux 18,394
VRG Ville de Roche à Bateau Urban 3,502
BEA 1ère Section Beaulieu Rural section 9,658 Beaulieu, Catin, Dopré, Malette, Mirande, Morglic, Nan Fourneau, Rosier, Table-au-Diable.
REN 2ème Section Renaudin Rural 1,869 Ca Mathan, Labiche, Nan Acajou, Ti Place.
BLO 3ème Section Beauclos Rural 3,365 Débauché, Duval, Figuier, Nan Roux, Tete Nicolas, Trou-Zombi.


References[]

Roche a Bateux: The other part of Haiti to visit [2]

Roche a Bateaux [3]

Michael Vedrine

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