Boucan-Carré ( ht, Boukan Kare) is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the Mirebalais Arrondissement, in the

Centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

department of Haiti. It has 48,700 inhabitants.

Geography

Boucan-Carré is a geographic expression is a huge area of land, most of which is covered in mountains and deep valleys. Agriculture and the production of charcoal made from cutting down trees are the primary ways to get by for the locals. The Boucan-Carré River cuts through the center of the town of Chambeau.

Economy

Since the destructive

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...

that struck the Port-au-Prince area in January 2010, many people are returning to family from that city which is causing further strain on the people and land. Clean water is still hard to come by and everything remains very expensive due to devaluation of the Haitian gourde and the extreme stress on the economy in general. All goods are expensive the further away you get from Port-au-Prince. All of rural Haiti is in flux and is experiencing a deep strain brought on by the earthquake.

Infrastructures

Boucan-Carré has seen some massive changes in the early 21st century, with a new primary school completed in 2005, and a secondary school completed in November 2012, and a clinic that has grown into a fully functioning hospital which is supported by

Paul Farmer Paul Edward Farmer (October 26, 1959 – February 21, 2022) was an American medical anthropologist and physician. Farmer held an MD and PhD from Harvard University, where he was a University Professor and the chair of the Department of Glob ...

's organization,

Partners In Health Partners In Health (PIH) is an international nonprofit public health organization founded in 1987 by Paul Farmer, Ophelia Dahl, Thomas J. White, Todd McCormack, and Jim Yong Kim. Partners in Health provides healthcare in the poorest areas of de ...

(known as

Zanmi Lasante Zanmi Lasante is a sister organization to the Boston-based Partners In Health that operates out of Cange in the central plateau of Haiti. The name, ''Zanmi Lasante'', means ''Partners In Health'' in Haitian Creole. It was built in 1985 to treat ...

in Haitian Creole) based out of

Boston, MA Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most ...

. The two schools, a church, and a hospital within Boucan-Carré are supported by the Haiti Outreach Program in Knoxville, Tennessee that hosts its annual '' Give Haiti Hope''.

Roads

The UN has made substantial improvements to the roads leading to the area from Port-au-Prince airport (PAP) so that what used to take 4.5 hours to go 45 miles back in 2004, now takes only two hours to arrive in Chambeau.

Telecommunications

Digicel Digicel is a Jamaican and Caribbean mobile phone network and home entertainment provider operating in 33 markets worldwide. Digicel has operated in several countries, including Guyana, Fiji, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia, Suriname, a ...

built a large Cellular Telephone Repeater Tower in the commune in about 2008, as locals can be seen riding donkeys while talking on cell phones.

References

Populated places in Centre (department) Communes of Haiti {{Haiti-geo-stub