Memoire Online - Sanitation in urban and peri-urban areas of Cap-Haitien: the promotion of different latrine options through a social marketing approach

After visits and interviews, it was possible to determine five types of areas in the city, with regard to housing, wealth level and type of sanitation. These areas are presented with, for each of them, an example zone of the city which was explored in more detail during the research:

1. Established high density housing within flat areas of the city (A), with for example the zone of Shada.

2. Emerging low density housing areas being built on low lying reclaimed land (B), exemplified by Petite-Anse.

3. Established low density housing areas built on the slopes above Cap Haitien (C), with the zone of Mansui.

4. Established high density housing areas built on the slopes above Cap Haitien (D), with the zone of Bas-ravine.

5. Established better quality housing in wealthier areas (E), with the zone of Champin.

On top of this, the city centre is a separate case: as the historical centre of the city, and

the only «legal» part of it in official population counts, it represents less of a priority for sanitation as houses often have septic tanks with flush-toilets; solid waste is more of an issue. The city centre was not taken into account during the study, and is not targeted

by the sanitation project. Table 5.1 on page 34 summarises the physical differences between the four zones surveyed, and Figure 5.1 represents these areas on a map.

These areas are typified by Shada, between the «new bridge» and the airport. It has a boundary of the river to the west and is build on land reclaimed from the river delta. The housing in Shada is haphazardly laid out and constructed from cement block and corrugated galvanised sheet. Large quantities of solid waste accumulate on the river banks. The common excreta disposal practices used in Shada are

· Open defecation, usually on the river banks on the accumulations of solid waste.

· Plastic bags, which are then thrown on to the piles of solid waste or on the roofs.

· Public toilets managed by CBOs and financed by the federation area committees.

5.1.2 Emerging low density housing areas being built on low lying land reclaimed from mangrove swamps - B

These areas are typified by Petite Anse, which can be divided into two broad sections; better quality housing situated close to the road and poorer quality housing being de- veloped on land reclaimed from Mangrove swamps and the sea. The land is being reclaimed by the dumping of solid waste purchased for between US$ 4 and US$ 8 a load¹. The housing is currently low density laid out on a rough grid pattern, although this is likely to change as the density increases. The housing is constructed mainly from timber frame, wicker and mud walls with roofs.

Open defecation is widely practised and takes place mainly in the sea or behind the walls of partly built houses.

5.1.3 Established low density housing built on the slopes above Cap Haitien - C

These areas are typified by Mansui which is situated on the hill slopes above the middle class housing area of Bel-Air. Part of the land belongs to the Hotel Beck which no longer operates as the owner died about a year ago. This has had an impact on the local economy as the hotel employed many of the residents. The land is steep and there are signs of erosion. Oxfam staff are concerned that deforestation due to the stripping out

of trees from the hillside for charcoal burning is going to increase the risk of flooding in

the area at the bottom of the slope. Banana trees, planted by the local householders, are common.

This area was recently targeted by a USAID-funded latrine building project which appears to have had mixed results (see Section 5.3.2, page 45). Those without a latrine

¹A truckload of «poor» solid waste (containing slow-decomposing plastics) can be bought for US$ 4,

a truckload of «better» waste (e.g. the mixture of sludge and waste blocking drainage channels) is bought for US$ 8; for comparison, a truckload of earth for building costs around US$ 40.

These areas are typified by Bas-Ravine which is situated on a steep hill slope above the city. Houses in this area have been built on a steep hillside and as the land is becoming limited, they are also beginning to be built in the ravine bed where they will be very vulnerable to flooding. The paths in this area are narrow and eroding. Solid waste and plastic bags containing faeces are routinely thrown into the ravine. Only the houses on

the top of the hill have some land on which they could practise urban agriculture.

A few public latrines can be found as well as some private latrines, but plastic bags seem to be widely used.

These areas are typified by the the Cités (Cité du Peuple, Champin), mainly situated on

the West bank of the river. They have been built in the 1980s in a planned manner as cheap accommodation blocks with basic infrastructure for new immigrants from rural areas. They are characterised by wider streets, often with concrete on the ground and some drainage channels, however regularly filled with solid waste. Communal latrines

are placed within each block, but the majority of them is either full or broken down. As

a result, wealthier people have a latrine or toilet inside their house while poorer people use plastic bags and go near the river. Latrine building would be difficult as not so much area is available and many landlords are absent.

Area Example zone	A Shada	B Petite-Anse	C Mansui	D Bas-Ravine	E Champin
Housing density	High	Medium	Low	High	Medium
Slope	Flat	Flat	Steep	Steep	Flat
Ground	S & SW	M	RE	RE	S & C
Water table	High	Very high	Low	Low	High
Water	Trucking	HP	Springs	Springs / HP	HP
City centre	Close	Remote	Remote	Close	Medium
Access to road	Good	Medium	Poor	Poor	Good
Passageways	Narrow	Mixed	Narrow	Narrow	Wide
Urban agriculture	None	Rarely	practised	Rarely	None
Wealth	Poor	Poor/medium	Poor	Poor	Medium
Population	70,000	75,000	40,000	40,000	100,000

C = Concrete; HP = Handpumps. «Population» designates the approximate population

Sanitation in urban and peri-urban areas of Cap-Haitien: the promotion of different latrine options through a social marketing approach

5 Results and analysis

5.1 Areas of the city