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Houaïlou 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 North Province of
New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...
, an overseas territory of
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
in the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
.


Geography


Climate

Houaïlou has a
tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ...
(
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
''Am''). The average annual temperature in Houaïlou is . The average annual rainfall is with March as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in February, at around , and lowest in August, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Houaïlou was on 5 March 1952; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 3 August 1985.


Demographics

The town is part of the Ajië-Aro Kanak cultural grouping, and Ajië is the local language. Over 90% of the population identified as Kanak in the 2014 census. There are some European mine workers and farmers, and a small number of Polynesians, and Asian from different countries.


Economy

The formal economy is based almost exclusively on nickel mining operations, with two local mines - Maï at Poro the Ballande mines at Bâ. Locals can train for mining jobs at the CFTMC in Poro. Service activities include the local administration and gendarmerie, schools, several small shops and other facilities. Local Kanak tribes have traditionally operated a semi subsistence economy, with some waged labour, migrant income, and substantial cultivation. Houaïlou's farmers produce
Lychee Lychee (US: ; UK: ; ''Litchi chinensis''; ) is a Monotypic taxon, monotypic taxon and the sole member in the genus ''Litchi'' in the Sapindus, soapberry family, ''Sapindaceae''. It is a tropical tree native to Southeast and Southwest China (t ...
s, a fruit introduced by a colonist from Réunion, Jolimont Kabar. There is a ''Fête du letchi'' each December, although production is unreliable in this climate and the festival is sometimes cancelled.


Notable people

* Georges Baudoux (1870-1949), author, lived in Houaïlou from 1928 to 1948 *
Maurice Leenhardt Maurice Leenhardt (9 March 1878 – 26 January 1954), was a French pastor and ethnologist specialising in the Kanak people of New Caledonia. Life Leenhardt was born in Montauban. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Protestant authorities co ...
(1878-1954), Protestant missionary, translator, and later anthropologist, built up the Protestant mission Dö Nèvâ 3 km upstream in the Houaïlou valley in 1902, and lived there until 1922. * Delin Wéma, anti-independence Kanak politician. Minister of Education in the New Caledonia government, 1984–1985.


References

* Michel Naepels. 1998. ''Histoires de terres kanakes (Conflts fonciers et rapports sociaux dans la région de Houaïlou)''. Paris: Belin. * Michel Naepels. 2013. ''Conjurer la guerre (Violence et pouvoir à Houaïlou, NC)''. Paris: EHESS. () Communes of New Caledonia {{NewCaledonia-geo-stub