Kenscoff

Kenscoff is located in the Ouest Department in the Port-au-Prince Arrondissement of Haiti.

Several hypotheses contradict each other as to the origin of the name of the municipality. One of them suggests that in 1797 an Englishman by the name of Kerenskoff was surrounded by Pétion in the heights of Pétion-Ville. After a few hours of fighting, he was abducted and deported under the orders of the Haitian general. It is the distortion of the name of this stranger that would have earned this region the Kenscoff name.

According to Sémexan Rouzier, the name of Kenscoff comes from a Polish poacher adventurer, responding to Kerenskoff’s name. He would have haunted the region, so much so that the army had to pursue him and put him out of harm’s way during the War of Independence.

The town of Kenscoff was founded in 1930 and raised to the rank of commune in 1934. Kenscoff has five communal sections. Close to 1,500 metres (4,500 ft) on the heights of Port-au-Prince, its terrain is mountainous with steep ridges that culminate in the valleys and it is interior (not on the shore). Kenscoff enjoys a cool climate and is known for its vegetable production and the numerous luxury homes of wealthy Port-au-Princienne families. The inhabitants of this municipality bear the name of Kenscoffiensor Kenscovites. In 1998, the population of the commune of Kenscoff was estimated at 47,328 inhabitants and reached 53,000 in 2004. For an area of half a square mile (1.46 km2), the population density in the center of town (Ville de Kenscoff) was 41,484 inhabitants per square mile (15,912 inhabitants/km2).

The municipality of Kenscoff is today a suburb of the capital Port-au-Prince. Kenscoff is ten kilometers southeast of the capital. Grand Fond, Belle Fontaine, Touraine, Sourcailles and Bongaille are the five sections.

Kenscoff occupies an area of ​​208.23 km2 (80 mi2). It is bounded on the north by Pétion-Ville, on the south by Belle-Anse and Marigot, to the west by Carrefour and Jacmel and to the east by Croix-des-Bouquets. Located on the northern slope of the Selle Massif, between 600 meters (Morne Calvaire around Pétion-Ville) and at more than 2,000 meters above sea level (Morne La Visite), the commune of Kenscoff is the steepest and the most mountainous commune of the Western Department. By its relief and its geographical position, Kenscoff offers superb panoramic views over the Port-au-Prince Bay and the Cul-de-Sac Plain.

Demographics: Women are the majority. They represent 51.2% of the population. At Kenscoff, the masculinity index is above the national average.

•Spatial distribution of the population

Compared to the surrounding communities, Kenscoff is relatively sparsely populated.

•Density of population (hab / km2)

Nouvelle Touraine 161.72
Sourçailles 350.55
Grand-Fond 188.07
Belle-Fontaine 110.51
Bongars 193.60
Town Center 3188.76
(Source: IHSI, RGPH 2003)

At the 2015 General Population and Housing Census (RGPH), the Western Department with its 18 municipalities, had a population of 4,029,705 inhabitants. Nearly a quarter of this population (24%) lives in the municipality of Port-au-Prince. Delmas(20%) and Carrefour (13%) represent after the capital the most populated municipalities of the department. The commune of Kenscoff is ranked 14th out of 18 in terms of population with 50,000 inhabitants, including 5,000 in urban areas and 45,000 in rural areas.

•Demographic pressure

By its location on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, Pétion-Ville, Delmas and Carrefour, the municipality of Kenscoff is subject to significant demographic pressure, which is reflected in particular by the anarchic and uncontrolled construction.

Demographic pressure on the metropolitan area will undoubtedly have an impact on the population density of the commune of Kenscoff which has the advantage of offering a quality of life (climate …) more pleasant than in Port-au-Prince and in its near periphery (Pétion-Ville, Delmas …).

Overrall, at the commune level, there is a balance between the proportions of singles, partnered, and married people, around 30%. That said, there are deep distinctions between communal sections.

Climate: Kenscoff is located at a height of 1500 meters. Average temperature of this place is lesser when compared to the climate at Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti.

It is quite cold during the winter months and wearing a jacket or a sweater, becomes necessary. The temperature ranges between 26 to 14 (78 to 57F) degrees centigrade. The coldest months are December, January and February.

The climate is mountain type. It is very cool in December and mild in June. Temperature average varies between 15 ° C in February and 18.6 ° C in September, with a temperature gradient of 0.75 ° C per 100 m. In general, the average annual rainfall is 1,638 mm. From 1,600 to 2,000 mm / year: East of the city and in a part of the south-east of the commune. More than 2,000 mm / year: To the west from Kenscoff and south of the commune.

Kenscoff knows two main seasons:
• A rainy season, from April to November, during which falls 86.6% of total rainfall annual,
• A dry season, from November to March, during which rainfall varies from 76.8 mm (November) to 18 mm (January). The table below shows the monthly precipitation changes in mm from the Kenscoff region.

Topography: The Kenscoff area is part of the morphological unit of the Massif de la Selle which culminates at Pic la Selle in 2,680 m (8,792 ft) of altitude and which constitutes the eastern part of the Tiburon Peninsula. The links of this massif have a general East-West orientation, there are two main morphological types:

• a karstic morphology where crystalline limestones are exposed,

• a morphology characterized by narrow ridges, ravined slopes, rugged terrain, chiseled by valleys in V, in volcanic regions.

At Kenscoff, basalts and andesites predominate. Hard limestones and massive limestones also exist. The sedimentary series form the major part of the Massif, they correspond to two sets that follow each other from bottom to top:

• A detrital base set consisting of conglomerate, volcanogenic sandstone, clay and impure limestones. This set is dated from the late Paleocene to the Eocene,

• A thick limestone series, either chalky, with flint, in regular and thin beds, or massive and crystalline, be crushed by tectonic movements, dating from the lower Eocene.

Hydrography

Surface water:

Grande Rivière
Galette River
Couleuvre River
Redoute River
Gribiche River
Gray River (Rivière Grise)
The Momance river has its source in the town of Kenscoff. It’s the same for the Cold River (Rivière Froide) flowing into the Bay of Port-au-Prince thruough Carrefour. On the Kenscoff side, there are more than a dozen tributaries, the most important of which are:
The Redoute River
The Feça I ravine
The Feça II gully
The Ravine Derivière
Grenier Gully
The Ravine Gran Motte
The Tojour Ravine
La Jontière Ravine
The Lali Ravine
The Tête-Source Ravine
The Grise River originates on the heights of the Massif de la Selle and flows near Jammeau in the bay of Port-au-Prince. It receives water from several sources including the source Cresson de Kenscoff.

Erosion The erosion risk map below reflects a cruel reality; Kenscoff is subject to very serious erosion risks on about 2/3 of its territory. No communal section is immune. In the face of such a situation, the erosion is a serious threat to take into account. in the development plans of the municipality, especially at the level of construction.

Landslides: The most spectacular occurred in the area of ​​Mahotière / Robin in 2006. At the time, the Office des Mines and Energy (BME) estimated the area occupied by the movement to be 27 hectares rectangle about 900 m long in the North-South direction and about 300 m wide. According to the BME report, the movement did not actually begin in August 2006 with the appearance of cracks on the road. This is a fairly slow movement that started several years and which manifested itself in August. Consequences of the landslide: About 250 people affected, about twenty houses destroyed, 16 planted earthquakes and unserviced roads.

Education: In the field of education, the commune of Kenscoff is considered by the Haiti wealth map (2004 version) for its extremely poor access to basic education. The Ministry of National Education of Youth and Sports is not represented in the commune of Kenscoff. Five Kindergaten (4 private and one congregational type), seven public, numerous private and one congregational were inventoried in the commune at the primary level. It has seven secondary schools, including one public and six private, three vocational schools and three literacy centers.

Health: The Ministry of Public Health and Population is not represented in the commune of Kenscoff. Seven health facilities were found in the commune equipped with several doctors, nurses, two dentists, and a laboratory technician.

Utilities: In terms of water availability, Kenscoff Township has seven springs and public fountains with six faucets, at the time of the inventory only two of them were functioning. Part of the city of Kenscoff, the 3rd communal section of Sourcing and the 4th communal section of Grand Fonds are electrified.

Security: At the level of the Administrative and Judicial Infrastructures, the commune of Kenscoff has a police station, a court of peace and a registry office. There is a prison with a strength of five prisoners.

Religion: On the side of religion, 28 temples (chapels included) were enumerated in the commune. Catholic churches are the most numerous, ten in total.

The Catholic religion seems to predominate in the majority of communal sections, in front of the Protestants, except at Grand-Fond.

Leisure: As for Leisure, the commune of Kenscoff has two libraries and a museum. It has neither a theater nor cinema. Football (soccer), basketball and karate are the three sports mainly practiced in the municipality. Seven night clubs and three gaguères were counted in the commune. The town has no monuments and tourist sites, however it has several places considered as places of meeting and relaxation where the population meets for entertainment and / or sometimes dialogue.

The community of Kenscoff is a vibrant one as a rich mix of population stays here. Nightlife is vivid, despite the small size of this region. A large number of nocturnal social establishments are concentrated in Kenscoff due to which an increase in nightlife is seen.