Miches

Miches is a town located in El Seibo province in the northeast coast of the Dominican Republic. The community sits between the northern slopes of the Cordillera Oriental and the southern shore of the Samaná Bay.

Miches
Miches
Coordinates: 18°58′48″N 69°3′0″W
Country Dominican Republic
ProvinceEl Seibo
Area
 • Total443.8 km2 (171.4 sq mi)
Elevation2 m (7 ft)
Population
 (2010)[3]
 • Total20.813
 • Density47/km2 (120/sq mi)
Distance to
 – Sabana de la Mar (Los Haitises National Park)
40 km
Distance to
 – Santa Cruz de El Seibo
44 km
Distance to
 – Punta Cana / Bávaro
95 km
Municipalities2: El Cedro and La Gina

Miches is an emerging rural community, so that it has limited access to markets, low levels of education and limited opportunities for employment; according to the National Office of Statistics of the Dominican Republic (ONE), 70.7% of households in El Seibo lived in poverty in year 2010.[4]

With the commercial fishing growth and the increase of local population, Miches is also perceiving the strain of overuse of water, in addition to coral reefs sedimented by the increasing runoff from land caused by agricultural activity.[5]

Origin of name

In 1936, the community formerly known as El Jovero changed its name -through Act No. 1181, published in the Official Gazette No. 4956-, in honor of the Dominican General Eugenio Miches.[6]

Economic activity

Miches has traditionally been a humble community in one of the poorest regions of the Dominican Republic. Agriculture -particularly the cultivation of rice, coconut, cocoa and tubers like yautía and ñame- cattle ranching, artisanal fishing, local handicrafts and small businesses are the main economic engines of the area.

Due to its geographical location, with the sea to the north and a mountain range to the south, Miches has historically lived isolated, which has impacted negatively to economic development. In recent years, improvements have been seen in the roads connecting Punta Cana, Santa Cruz de El Seibo and Sabana de la Mar, which have opened a new channel of communication that favors the diversification of the economy and an incipient development of tourism.[7]

Tourism development

Miches has a great tourism potential. The extension of its beaches, and its irregular coasts creating unique landforms, providing all the means for potential tourism.[8] The area has mangroves, coconut trees, mountains, rivers, waterfalls, caves and tropical forests.

Miches will be the location of the project Tropicalia, a sustainable tourism and real estate development of Cisneros Real Estate, a division of Cisneros. Tropicalia will entail an investment of US$310 million and will generate around 1,800 jobs.[9]

Since 2008, Tropicalia promotes, through Fundación Tropicalia, the sustainable social and economic development of Miches, working in the areas of environment, education, productivity, and socio-cultural advocacy.[10]

The construction of new roads and the announcement of major projects have fostered the development of tourism in Miches, with the appearance of small local businesses (such as restaurants, rental cabins, boat tours, horseback rides on the beach) and the creation of tourism clusters.

Points of interest
  • Montaña Redonda.
  • Laguna Redonda (nature reserve, protected area).
  • Laguna Limón (nature reserve, protected area).
  • Bahía La Gina (Area of habitat and species management, protected).
  • Carretera El Seibo – Miches (protected landscape).
  • Costa Esmeralda (beach).
  • Playa Limón (beach).
  • Playa Arriba (beach).
  • Media Luna (natural saltwater pool).

Recognized personalities
Olivia Peguero Pintura en plein air working near the town of Miches, en la provincia de El Seibo en la República Dominicana
  • Olivia Peguero (artist).
  • Diógenes Abreu (artist and writer).
  • Sélvido Candelaria (writer).
  • Ceferino Moní Reyes (writer).
  • Enyer One (Urban artist)
  • Genaro Reyes “Cayuco” (artist and artisan).

References
  1. "Tu municipio en cifras, Miches", 2016 (in Spanish). Oficina Nacional de Estadística.
  2. De la Fuente, Santiago (1976). Geografía Dominicana. Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Editora Colegial Quisqueyana.
  3. "Tu municipio en cifras, Miches", 2016 (in Spanish). Oficina Nacional de Estadística.
  4. "Número de hogares en situación de pobreza general y extrema por provincia, 2002 y 2010" (in Spanish). Oficina Nacional de Estadística, 19 de septiembre de 2014.
  5. ESSEG http://cees.columbia.edu/programs/esseg
  6. Moní Reyes, Ceferino (2011). Miches, historia y tradición Archived 2017-02-02 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish). Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Archivo General de la Nación.
  7. Danilo Medina inaugura carretera Bávaro-Uvero Alto-Miches; El Caribe 16/01/2015 || Danilo Medina inaugura la carretera El Seibo-Miches; Diario Libre 03/02/2015 || Dejan en funcionamiento la carretera Miches-Sabana de la Mar; Diario Libre 15/03/2016
  8. Moní Reyes, Ceferino (2011). Miches, historia y tradición Archived 2017-02-02 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish). Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Archivo General de la Nación.
  9. La apuesta de inversión más importante de Grupo Cisneros; Forbes 09/05/2016
  10. http://www.fundaciontropicalia.com/en/about-fundacion-tropicalia/
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