Communities Involved in Ocoa South Integrated Development Project

San Jose de Ocoa
(Regional city, not directly participating in the project)

• LOCATION: 2 hours west of Santo Domingo

• POPULATION: 60,000
• ECONOMY: Service, mostly for surrounding agricultural areas
• LITERACY: Fairly high
• TELECOMM: Phone, DSL, cable TV
• TRANSPORTATION: Bus to Capital every 20 minutes 5 am - 5 pm, no night
  transportation.

• MEDICAL SERVICES: Regional public hospital and several private clinics.
  (no monitoring or surgical facilities, anything serious is transported to Bani (limited trauma care) or the Capital by ambulance. No air transportation available.

• MEDICAL PROBLEMS: Nothing outstanding, some AIDS.

Communities Involved in Ocoa South Integrated Development Project

El Limon

Location of CAREL (Rural Alternatives Center) facilitationg this project LOCATION Paved highway to turnoff 3 miles south of Ocoa, then 3 miles of gravel road, currently being improved.

• POPULATION: 370
• ECONOMY: Farming, mostly onions and eggplant, most residents below poverty level by any standards.
• LITERACY: 80% nominally literate, in real terms maybe 20%.
• TELECOMM: Public Internet for 5 years, mostly used by youth. Telephone for 6 months.
• TRANSPORTATION: Motorbike taxi to Ocoa. takes 20 minutes, when available.
  CAREL has only regular 4-wheel vehicle

• MEDICAL SERVICES: Must go to Ocoa (or Santo Domingo for major problems)
• MEDICAL PROBLEMS: Mostly circulatory diseases, probably related to diet. Some trauma from farm or motorbike accidents.

Los Martinez

• LOCATION: Turnoff is in Las Caobas seven miles south of Ocoa on main
  highway, then five miles up into hills on dirt road

• POPULATION: about 200
• ECONOMY: Farming, mostly onions, tomatoes, eggplant. Much avocado
  recently planted, not yet producing.

• LITERACY: About 50%, this community is better organized than neighboring villages and has a tradition of better schools.
• TELECOMM: Internet in school and telephone will be installed shortly when new school and hydroelectric project are functioning, possibly February.
• TRANSPORTATION: Irregular pickup to Bani (about 1/3 of distance to Santo
  Domingo. Several pickup trucks in community.

• MEDICAL SERVICES: Rural clinic is being reopened after several years of closure, expected to have resident physician shortly. People needing care now are transported to Ocoa (or Bani). Internet and telephone will be installed in clinic when electricity is available (soon).
• MEDICAL PROBLEMS: Most visible: circulatory disease.

Los Ranchos

• LOCATION: Three miles past Los Martinez on same dirt road
• POPULATION: 150 in community. Many recent outside arrivals work on new
  absentee-owned farms, including some Haitians. Some are resident but not integrated into community

• ECONOMY: Agriculture
• LITERACY: perhaps 20 %
• TELECOMM: To be installed when money for solar panels (and other hardware) is found TRANSPORTATION Occasional pickup trucks MEDICAL SERVICES None locally, go to clinic in Los Martinez if available, Ocoa and Bani if not.
• MEDICAL PROBLEMS: Not known, nothing very apparent

Las Caobas

• LOCATION: On Ocoa highway seven miles south of Ocoa
• POPULATION: About 200.
• ECONOMY: Short cycle agriculture, some sales to passers-by on highway
• LITERACY: Perhaps 20% in real terms
• TELECOMM: None, will have Internet and telephone when extension of grid
  (now in progress) is completed. Realistically, no fixed date.

• TRANSPORTATION: Bus to Ocoa (20 min), Bani (45 min), Santo Domingo (1 hr
  30 min). More mobile population than the other communities due to location on main highway to Ocoa.

• MEDICAL SERVICES: None locally.
• MEDICAL PROBLEMS: Not known, nothing very apparent.