#259: Sources Chaudes, slight reprise (fwd)

[Robert Corbett <bcorbett@netcom.com>]

From:dlyall@cruzio.com

Two years ago this item was posted twice. Guy made a comment
about it, from whence I clipped this. Has anything happened to this
project? Has anyone ever been to visit this hot spring?

>AQUARIAN ENTREPRISE, S.A.

>INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT PROJECT AT "SOURCES CHAUDES", 
>THE FAR -WEST OF HAITI

>AQUARIAN ENTREPRISE, S.A. (AQUARIAN).

>An Industrialo-Commercial development firm has submitted a proposal to 
>the Government of Haiti to obtain a title for exploiting the
>thermo-mineral  waters at Sources Chaudes located in the Anse-Rouge
>Commune, the  NorthWest Peninsula. This project aims at re-establishing
>one of Haiti's  natural wonders, the "Eaux de Boynes". These are
>geothermal waters  which are heated by magma more than a kilometer below
>the ground  and emerge as hot springs along a geological fault located in
>the Plaine  de l'Arbre which borders the NorthWest mountains.

>With the title, AQUARIAN proposes to develop a project that will enhance 
>the value of the thermal springs and the region. Before presenting the 
>content of the project, it is essential to know the historical background
> of the springs, which are presented hereafter.

>HISTORY OF EAUX DE BOYNES

>As reported by Moreau de St. Mery in 1796, the thermal springs at Sources
> Chaudes were first discovered in 1725 by a slave named Capois who was 
>rounding up the cattle of his master. His horse fell in a muddy hole.
>Unable  to pull his horse out the hole by himself Capois sought help from
>people  living nearby, and pulled the animal from the hole. He then found
>the horse's  legs to be extremely hot.

>Having often heard the French colonists speak of the medicinal values of 
>natural values of natural thermal waters in Europe. Capois decided to
>test  the curative powers of these newfound waters. He dug a bathing hole
>six  feet long by four feet wide.

>He began his experiments on a slave friend whom he knew suffered from 
>severe rheumatism. On the l2th day of bathing, it was reported that the 
>friend had started to feel better, but after a month of bathing in the
>springs,  it was reported that his friend had regained his entire range
>of motion in all  limbs with no feeling of pains.

>To verify his findings, Capois brought another slave friend from
>Jean-Rabel  who had lost all movement in his legs and left for invalid.
>After three months  of bathing, this friend, too, was able to walk
>without pain.

>Word of these miraculous cures spread and many people began visiting  the
>springs. Testimonies of the healing powers of these thermal waters  were
>found by engraved messages of gratitude and crutches left hanging  on
>tree branches.

>Soon after Capois' experimentation, the area was sold to a colonist. 
>Ownership passed through the hands of several colonists until 1772 when 
>Mr. de Rameru, a lieutenant of the King who was posted in St. Marc and 
>owned the land containing the springs, donated the property to the King 
>for the purpose of making the area, a public domain open to all. The 
>springs were officially named "Eaux de Boynes' after a Minister of the 
>Crown.

>France invested 600.000 pounds in order to develop a full-fledged health 
>resort at Sources Chaudes. The resort contained a civilian sanitarium, a 
>military hospital, several bathhouses, and hospitality centers for those
>who  came from afar to use the baths. To have access to the baths cost a 
>colonist 24 pounds including room and board at a hospitality center. The 
>fee for a black man was only 5 pounds. This was reported as being a very 
>profitable enterprise for the crown.

>The medical importance of the springs can be ascertained by the Crown 
>having appointed medical administrators (as opposed to military 
>administrators)  to Sources Chaudes. The first medical administrator (a 
>crown surgeon) was sent to Sources Chaudes in l777.

>Moreau de St. Mery reported that the springs were well known in the
>colony  and in France, and Sources Chaudes was well frequented. Passenger
> boats brought people regularly to Port-a-Piment from as far as
>Fort-Liberte,  Cap-Haitian and Port-de-Paix. From Port-a-Piment, the Boat
>passengers  were transported directly to Sources Chaudes.

>The place was so well frequented that its population grew rapidly and was
> made a Bourg as opposed to a rural village. It was described as being
>very  prosperous with large avenues lined by trees and expensive houses.

>As to medicinal characteristics of the springs, the writings of the
>various  medical administrators who based themselves on more than 50
>years of  experience, indicated that the springs' were able to heal such
>diseases as:  rheumatism, gout, sciatic, paralysis, pains associated with
>sprains, fractures  and dislocations, nervous depressions, bowel
>obstructions, inflammations  and pains in extremities, scrofulous ulcers
>and scrofula, sores and cutaneous  diseases in general, scorbutic pains
>and symptoms, most fevers, apoplexy,  false ankylosis, suppressions of
>menstruation, most sanious ulcers, ulcers  due to burns or wounds, bone
>decay, hard tumors of corpus cavernosus,  scirrhus tumors, pulmunosis,
>asthma, cachexia, elephantiasis, when the  disease is not old, yaws and
>crabs with extreme ease, and tapeworms.

>Since 1796, no other information has been found on the state of Sources 
>Chaudes as a post independent resort. It wasn't until thewritings of
>Woodring,  an American geologist who studied the springs in 1924, that
>mention is found  of Sources Chaudes. Woodring compared the area with the
>one reported by  Moreau St. Mery. He indicated that the bourg was a
>dilapidated state. Only  ruins of the bathhouses and the bathhouses and
>the hospitals were found.  There were no large avenues and no expensive
>houses. Sources Chaudes  became a poor rural settlement with few visitors
>to the springs.

>Hence, it is believed that the value of these springs and the prosperity
>of  Sources Chaudes began to disappear during the independence war and 
>the place was never recovered. In 1930s, a mineral water bottling plant
>was  established by a German family at Sources Chaudes. The
>thermo-mineral  waters were bottled under the label of 'Eaux de Boynes'
>and sold both in  Haiti and abroad. At the beginning of World War II, the
>family closed the  plant and left the country. Today, the plant's
>building still stands, but itis in  very poor condition.

>As to the springs, all seven still exist and supply water at the same
>flow,  physical and chemical characteristics that were reported in the
>18th century  and in the 1920s by Woodring. As to the physical conditions
>of the springs,  six of the seven are capped for multiple uses, such as
>feeding a piped-water  distribution system for the bourg, public bathing,
>and laundering.

>Sources Chaudes still receives visitors who come to bathe from all over 
>the region. They are too few however, to bring sensible economic value to
> Sources Chaudes.

>The existing bathing facilities could not attract the kind and number of
>visitors  that would be needed to give the region an economic uplift. Of
>the three  bathing basins that exist, only two are lined in concrete. 
>However, the  buildings are not in good shape and the basins lack the
>basic sanitary  conditions that would be needed to meet the basic
>requirements for such  places. Moreover, the entire region does not have
>the basic hospitality  facilities that are essential to provide room and
>board to visitors.


>THE PROJECT

>The historical background of the springs clearly indicated that they
>represented  a formidable resource to the colony. It has been effectively
>used for health  rehabilitation purpose for almost three centuries. 
>Moreover, bottled waters  were produced at Sources Chaudes and
>successfully sold both in Haiti and  abroad. Thus, the goal of
>reestablishing the value of these springs to at least that found in the
>18th century is a reachable one.

>The project which seeks to achieve this goal, will establish Sources
>Chaudes  as (1) a health resort, (2) Haiti's bottled mineral water
>center, and (3) a center  for eco-tourism.

>As health resort, Sources Chaudes will offer rehabilitative, and
>promotional  health services. Rehabilitative services will include
>fangotherapy, hydrotherapy,  physiotherapy and other associated
>therapies. The therapeutic services  will use the geothermal and marine
>waters and mud that are found locally.  Rehabilitative services will be
>conducted under medical supervision.

>The Project's health promotion services will include physical fitness 
>and weight management programs designed to at least equal the best  that
>can be found elsewhere. These programs will include indoor and  outdoor
>exercises using modern equipment and methods; and nutritional  care using
>the latest methods and healthy produces such as organic food  to be grown
>by the project. These programs will be under the supervision  of
>well-trained and experienced professionals.

>The Project will make full use of traditional medical care and 
>pharmacopoeia that have demonstrated effectiveness and are  compatible to
>the services offered by the project. This will provide  the customer,
>both traditional and modern methods for treating ailments.

>The Project will also bring back the bottling water industry that once 
>flourished in Sources Chaudes. Thus, a water bottling plant will be
>built.  The plant will produce a high quality and wholesome mineral water
>to  be used at the centers and sold in Haiti and abroad. An ice
>production  capacity will be added to the plant. The much needed ice will
>be  distributed primarily in the Project region.

>The wealth of these waters remain in their qualities that are unique in 
>the Caribbean region. These qualities have been tested by the National 
>Testing Laboratories of Ohio and found to meet the rigid standards of 
>the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Food and  Drug
>Administration (FDA), the ministries of Health and Agriculture in 
>Canada, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture 
>Organization (FAO), and the most rigid standards of the International 
>Water Bottling Association (IBWA).

>Under IBWA and FDA regulations, these waters are officially classified 
>as being mineral spring waters, the highest and most difficult standard 
>that can be obtained of bottled water. Because of that classification 
>and the fact that these waters are believed to have great medicinal 
>values, bottled waters from Sources Chaudes are therefore expected  to be
>in very high demand both in Haiti and abroad, particularly, once  the
>resort becomes known.

>In addition to the health resort and the water bottling plant, there will
>be  hospitality centers at both Sources Chaudes and Coridon (located on 
>the southern coast of the NorthWest peninsula at 12 kms from Sources 
>Chaudes). These centers will provide room and board to those who  come to
>use the health facilities and serve as a center for conducting  seminars,
>workshops, and cultural events.

>The Project also calls for the development of a retirement and vacation 
>community. To that end, a development scheme of more than 200  sewered, 
>watered and electrified lots has been planned. These lots will  be sold
>for construction of residential homes and commercial facilities. 

>As a center for eco-tourism, the project will ensure that the environment
> of the region is embellished and maintained. The rose flamingos that are
> often seen in the area and other wild life that are unique to the
>Far-West  region of Haiti will be protected and permitted to develop a
>safe habitat.  Visitors will be offered nature tours that will provide an
>understanding of  the eco-system of the Far-West region.

> IMPLEMENTATION PERIOD

>The project is designed for a phased-implementation period of ten years. 
>Construction activities are anticipated to begin in 1998.

>ECONOMIC BENEFITS

>The project is expected to bring economic relief and strengthen the 
>developmental potential of the entire NorthWest Peninsula. It will  also
>introduce medical and eco-tourism in the southern region of  the
>Peninsula.

>The immediate benefits to the Sources Chaudes region and the  southern
>part of the Peninsula will be the various opportunities created  in
>developing a market for the goods and services that the sub-region 
>possesses.  The project will promote entrepreneurship in the production 
>of the types of goods that will be consumed by expected national and 
>international visitors.

>The eventual flow of visitors from Port-au-Prince, Cap-Haitian, and the 
>Dominican Republic will also have a positive impact on the economy of 
>such cites as St. Marc and Gonaives.

>The project will have a positive impact on the commercialization of salt 
>and fish, two of the main products of the area. Coastal beaches along the
> southern part of the Peninsula will have the potential for development
>with  the success of the Sources Chaudes Project.

>The project will bring increased employment and wages to a region where 
>the average family income is less than 200 Gourdes per month (US$150  per
>year), which almost entirely comes from the sale of bananas, beans, 
>corn, and shallot.

>SOCIAL BENEFITS

>The project proposes to support a variety of social initiatives that
>include  education, improved health services, and village infrastructure.
>The great  impact on improved quality of life will be for those living in
>the Anse-Rouge  Commune, in particular for those living in Sources
>Chaudes. Project plans  include the development of safe water supplies
>for domestic and agricultural  use. Plans also include providing
>electrification and telecommunication  services to the area.

>With the improved services and infrastructure, the region will be more
>open,  allowing for greater mobility of the population to sell their
>goods outside of  their immediate region. 

>ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

>No environmental degradation will result during the implementation of the
> project. All materials used will be biodegradable and non-pollutants. 
>All  liquid wastes to be produced by the project facilities will be
>treated and  reused to support agriculture. Solid wastes will also be
>used to produce  compost for agricultural purposes.

>A mix of electrical power sources will be used to include solar, wind and
> diesel powers. Diesel-fired power plants will be strategically located
>in  order to avoid any point pollution source that could affect the
>general  project area both in terms of air and noise pollution.

>The impact on land degradation will be minimal. Reforestation activities 
>are planned to improve the conditions of topsoil. Moreover, careful 
>planning of the drainage system will ensure adequate management of  the
>project area's watershed.

>In order to promote eco-tourism, careful attention will be given to the 
>architectural design of facilities that will enhance the far-west look of
>the  area.

>___________________________________________________________

> AQUARIAN ENTREPRISE, S.A.

>THERMAL SPRINGS DEVELOPMENT & INVESTMENT SURVEY

> PERSONAL INFORMATION

>Name: __________________ ___________________ _____________
>            Last                                    First                                   
>Middle 

>Address: _________________________________________
> 
>City: _________________________
> 
>State: ______________ 

>Zip Code: ________________________ 

>Country: ________________

>Phone: (____)_________________ (Home) 
>             (____)_________________  (Work)

>Fax:     (____)______________________
> 
>E-mail: _____________________________________

>Profession: _________________________________ 

>Occupation: ________________________________

>Would you retire in Haiti in a place like what is projected in Sources 
>Chaudes, a planned community:

> Yes ( )   Maybe ( )

>When the facilities at Sources Chaudes are functional would you refer 
>family members ( ) and friends ( ) to the planned health resort.


>GENERAL INFORMATION

>Would you and/or members of your family consider using:
>  Thermal baths ( ) 
>  Mud baths ( )
>  Thalasso canter ( ) 
>  Physical therapy center ( ) 
>  Diet center ( ) facilities at the Sources Chaudes resort when built?

>How many days would you spend in average: ________

>Would you stay at a: Hotel ( ) inn/motel ( ) guest house ( ) other ( )

>Would you recommend such a place to hold conferences ( )
>  Workshops ( ) seminars ( ) other events (specify)_________________

>What facilities would you like to find in such a resort? 
>  Beach ( ) 
>  Nature walk ( )
>  Horse back riding ( ) 
>  Golf ( ) 
>  Sea sports ( )

>How much bottled water do you purchase in a week at home: 
>  Less than 1 gallon ( ) 
>  1-5 gallon ( )
>  More than 5 gallons ( )

>Which bottled water do you like the best:
>  Treated municipal water ( ) 
>  Well water ( ) 
>  Spring water ( )
>  Mineralized water ( )
>  Gasified water ( ) 
>  Distilled water ( )

>Since Eaux de Boynes will meet the most rigid standards in the industry, 
>would you give preference to it over water bottled outside Haiti.
> Yes ( )    No ( )

>What price would you pay for one liter of bottled water if bottled in
>Haiti  and meets U.S., Canadian and WHO Standards?
>US$__________

>Would you prefer bottled water to be packaged in glass container ( )  a
>plastic container ( ) or it makes a difference to you( )
>____________________________________________________

>INVESTMENT INFORMATION

>Would you be interested investing in the Sources Chaudes Project?
> Yes ( ) No ( )

>If, yes which component of the project would you invest in:
>  Rehabilitative Therapy Centers ( )
>  Hospitality Center ( ) 
>  Water bottling plant ( )
>  The planned community development center ( )

>Would you consider buying a house in a planned community with water 
>sewer and electricity in Sources Chaudes: Yes ( ) No ( )

>What kind of investment would you look for: 
>  Ownership ( )
>  Partnership ( ) stocks ownership ( )
>  Other (specify) __________________

>Would you need financing? Yes ( ) No ( )

>Would you come with own financing Yes ( ) No ( )

>Please send me more information about investment possibilities  in the
>future ( )


>REMARKS: __________________________________________________

>____________________________________________________________

>____________________________________________________________

>____________________________________________________________

>____________________________________________________________



>Thank you for filling out the survey. Please submit directly to Dr.
>Laurent  Pierre-Philippe or Dr. Pierre R. Leger or mail your information
>at either one  of the two addresses specified below or
>email:cmrc@erols.com


>HAITI: 37, Rue Gregroire, Boite Postale 15461, Petionville, HAITI W.I.
>Phone/Fax: (509) 57-6064

>USA: 234-238 North Carey Street at Saratoga, Baltimore, MD 21223 Phone:
>(410) 462-4711 - Fax: (410) 462-4713
>____________________________________________________________