Santa Cruz, Cape Verde
Encyclopedia
Santa Cruz is a municipality located in the eastern part of the island of Santiago
in Sotavento in southern Cape Verde
and is ranked fourth in Cape Verde. The municipal is around 32,965, the area is 150 km² and the density is about 205/km². The seat of the municipality is Vila de Pedra Badejo
. Santa Cruz is located about 40 km NNW of Cape Verde's capital Praia
, SE of Tarrafal
and E of Assomada
.
Santa Cruz are linked with a highway linking Tarrafal and Praia and a road to Picos and Assomada
. Farmlands are situated within the valley areas, the mountains cover the rest of the municipality especially the western parts. Grasslands and bushes covers the mountain areas to the west. Alluvial basins (ribeira
s) create pockets of fertile soil and high water tables to some villages in the eastern half.
Santa Cruz is the native land of Orlando Pantera and Catchás, two of the names most heard in music that the island of Santiago has ever knew.
group will plan to construct a port next to the old port of Pedra Badejo.
Its economy is based in agriculture, in which rural population produces agricultural commodities for export to larger markets in Praia
, Assomada
and Fogo
. Small market centers exist in São Lourenço dos Órgãos
and Pedra Badejo
, which act primary as commodity exchanges where subsistence farmers exchange goods as available with merchants who transport and sell goods in larger markets. The primary agricultural productions include fodder
(usually in the form of maize
stalks), banana
s, papaya
s and coconut
s. Prior to 1981 the area also produced a substantial percentage of the island's maize
, but the arrival of large-scale international food aid, while vastly improving the region’s food security, made producing foodstuffs unprofitable. Maize
and legumes are still the region's primary agricultural product, though 97% is consumed by the families that produce it. The mixture of nitrogen fixing and nitrogen consuming crops reduces the need for chemical fertilizers, allowing small farmers to remain solvent despite little cash income.
The dry-season economy is directed primarily by agricultural cooperatives, which assign stonemasonry, carpentry and other construction tasks through contracts awarded by the local governments. The president of the cooperative acts as a de-facto village headman in areas where there are no government representative.
The soil in the region is very fertile (being especially rich in iron
and potash
, though water is scare in all parts of the municipality.
as well as other islands of Sal
and Boa Vista
in search for better conditions of life and working conditions. The municipality has plagued been by unemployment
and illiteracy, through recent literacy campaigns have brought functional literacy to above 75% for younger residents.
Santiago, Cape Verde
Santiago , or Santiagu in Cape Verdean Creole, is the largest island of Cape Verde, its most important agricultural centre and home to half the nation’s population. At the time of Darwin's voyage it was called St. Jago....
in Sotavento in southern Cape Verde
Cape Verde
The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...
and is ranked fourth in Cape Verde. The municipal is around 32,965, the area is 150 km² and the density is about 205/km². The seat of the municipality is Vila de Pedra Badejo
Pedra Badejo
Pedra Badejo is a city located on the eastern coast of Santiago in Cape Verde. It is the seat of Santa Cruz municipality....
. Santa Cruz is located about 40 km NNW of Cape Verde's capital Praia
Praia
Praia , is the capital and largest city of Cape Verde, an island nation in the Atlantic Ocean west of Senegal. It lies on the southern coast of Santiago island in the Sotavento Islands group. It is the island's ferry port and is home to one of the nation’s four international airports...
, SE of Tarrafal
Tarrafal, Cape Verde
Tarrafal is a municipality located in the northern part of the island of Santiago in Sotavento in Cape Verde. The municipal population is around 18000, the area is 112.4 km² and the density is about 160/km². Tarrafal is located 75 km NNW of Cape Verde's capital, Praia.Farmland surrounds...
and E of Assomada
Assomada
-Other:Assomada has an university , an extensive school complex, including a "Liceu" , and "Escola Primária"...
.
Santa Cruz are linked with a highway linking Tarrafal and Praia and a road to Picos and Assomada
Assomada
-Other:Assomada has an university , an extensive school complex, including a "Liceu" , and "Escola Primária"...
. Farmlands are situated within the valley areas, the mountains cover the rest of the municipality especially the western parts. Grasslands and bushes covers the mountain areas to the west. Alluvial basins (ribeira
Ribeira
Ribeira is Portuguese and Galician for stream, ravine or rivulet, and may refer to:-Galicia:* Santa Uxía de Ribeira, a municipality, civil parish and town in A Coruña province-Portugal:...
s) create pockets of fertile soil and high water tables to some villages in the eastern half.
Santa Cruz is the native land of Orlando Pantera and Catchás, two of the names most heard in music that the island of Santiago has ever knew.
Economy
About 1/3 of the population of Santa Cruz are in agriculture, cattle, and forestry. Commercial, civil works and public administration and have a secondary importance. A GermanGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
group will plan to construct a port next to the old port of Pedra Badejo.
Its economy is based in agriculture, in which rural population produces agricultural commodities for export to larger markets in Praia
Praia
Praia , is the capital and largest city of Cape Verde, an island nation in the Atlantic Ocean west of Senegal. It lies on the southern coast of Santiago island in the Sotavento Islands group. It is the island's ferry port and is home to one of the nation’s four international airports...
, Assomada
Assomada
-Other:Assomada has an university , an extensive school complex, including a "Liceu" , and "Escola Primária"...
and Fogo
Fogo, Cape Verde
Fogo is an island in the Sotavento group of Cape Verde. It is the most prominent of the group, rising to nearly 3,000 m above sea level at Pico do Fogo.-Geography:...
. Small market centers exist in São Lourenço dos Órgãos
São Lourenço dos Órgãos
São Lourenço dos Órgãos is a municipality on Santiago island in Cape Verde.-Parishes:The municipality includes only one parish:*São Lourenço dos Órgãos-History:...
and Pedra Badejo
Pedra Badejo
Pedra Badejo is a city located on the eastern coast of Santiago in Cape Verde. It is the seat of Santa Cruz municipality....
, which act primary as commodity exchanges where subsistence farmers exchange goods as available with merchants who transport and sell goods in larger markets. The primary agricultural productions include fodder
Fodder
Fodder or animal feed is any agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock such as cattle, goats, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. Most animal feed is from plants but some is of animal origin...
(usually in the form of maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
stalks), banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
s, papaya
Papaya
The papaya , papaw, or pawpaw is the fruit of the plant Carica papaya, the sole species in the genus Carica of the plant family Caricaceae...
s and coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
s. Prior to 1981 the area also produced a substantial percentage of the island's maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
, but the arrival of large-scale international food aid, while vastly improving the region’s food security, made producing foodstuffs unprofitable. Maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
and legumes are still the region's primary agricultural product, though 97% is consumed by the families that produce it. The mixture of nitrogen fixing and nitrogen consuming crops reduces the need for chemical fertilizers, allowing small farmers to remain solvent despite little cash income.
The dry-season economy is directed primarily by agricultural cooperatives, which assign stonemasonry, carpentry and other construction tasks through contracts awarded by the local governments. The president of the cooperative acts as a de-facto village headman in areas where there are no government representative.
The soil in the region is very fertile (being especially rich in iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
and potash
Potash
Potash is the common name for various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form. In some rare cases, potash can be formed with traces of organic materials such as plant remains, and this was the major historical source for it before the industrial era...
, though water is scare in all parts of the municipality.
Parishes
The municipality includes only one parish:History
It was created in 1971, when two parishes of the older Municipality of Praia were separated to become the Municipality of Santa Cruz. In 2005, a southern parish of the municipality was split off to become the Municipality of São Lourenço dos Órgãos.Demography
Harsh living conditions forces a large part of the young population to move to PraiaPraia
Praia , is the capital and largest city of Cape Verde, an island nation in the Atlantic Ocean west of Senegal. It lies on the southern coast of Santiago island in the Sotavento Islands group. It is the island's ferry port and is home to one of the nation’s four international airports...
as well as other islands of Sal
Sal, Cape Verde
Sal is an island in Cape Verde. It belongs to the northern group of islands, called Barlavento. The island is composed by a single administrative division, the Sal municipality. The island is home to Amílcar Cabral International Airport, the main airport of Cape Verde.- Geography :The island is...
and Boa Vista
Boa Vista, Cape Verde
Boa Vista is the easternmost island of Cape Verde. It is located in the Barlavento group of the archipelago. The island is known for marine turtles and traditional music, as well as its ultramarathon and its sand dunes and beaches...
in search for better conditions of life and working conditions. The municipality has plagued been by unemployment
Unemployment
Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
and illiteracy, through recent literacy campaigns have brought functional literacy to above 75% for younger residents.
| Population of (1940—2010) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 |
| — | — | — | — | 22995 | 25892 | 33015 | 30038 |
| Northwest: São Miguel São Miguel, Cape Verde São Miguel is a municipality located in the northeastern part of the island of Santiago in Sotavento in southcentral Cape Verde. The municipal population is around 16,104, the area is 91 km² and the density is about 176/km²... |
North: Atlantic Ocean Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area... |
|
| West: Santa Catarina Santa Catarina, Cape Verde Santa Catarina is a municipality located in the northwestern and the western parts of the island of Santiago in Sotavento in Cape Verde. The municipal population is around 49,829, the area is 243 km² and the density is about 205/km². The seat of the municipality is Assomada... |
Santa Cruz | East: Atlantic Ocean |
| Southwest: Praia Praia Praia , is the capital and largest city of Cape Verde, an island nation in the Atlantic Ocean west of Senegal. It lies on the southern coast of Santiago island in the Sotavento Islands group. It is the island's ferry port and is home to one of the nation’s four international airports... |
South: São Domingos São Domingos, Cape Verde São Domingos is a Municipality in Santiago island in Cape Verde. The São Domingos municipality was formed primarily to relieve Praia of the administrative difficulties involved in managing both a large capital city in addition to agrarian villages.... |