Neiba

“Al mal tiempo, buena cara”.
*In bad times, show your best face*.
-Dominican proverb

**Neiba** is a city in the southwest Dominican Republic, approximately 204 kilometers (*127 miles*) from Santo Domingo. It is part of the Barohuco Province.

## Neiba

### Region

 Bahoruco Province
Enriquillo

### Distance to:

Jimaní: 63 km (*39 mi.*)
Santo Domingo:
202 km (*126 mi.*)

## About

Known as the City and Capital of the Grape, it is the capital of the province of Bahoruco in the valley of the same name, in the southwest of the Dominican Republic and is 180 kilometers west of the national capital, near the shore of Lake Enriquillo, the largest lake in the Caribbean.

Neyba, Taíno word that in Spanish means Tierra Blanca, according to the French writer Moreau de Saint-Méry in his Work "Description of the Spanish Part of Santo Domingo". The writer resided on the island in the eighteenth century, and says that Neyba is a native voice, and was used to point to the Valley, the Sierra, the Rivers and the Bay.

## Geography

The municipality is located in the southwestern region of the Dominican Republic, near the Sierra de Bahoruco, which is an extension of the Haitian Sierra de Masif de la Selle , which reaches the territory of the municipality through the Shark Peninsula and is directed To the east in different foothills, it crosses several provinces and heads to the coasts of the country.

According to the ONE, the city has a total area of 275.33 square kilometers (106.31 Square miles). Neiba is bordered by the San Juan towns of El Cercado and Vallejuelo to the north, the city of Tamayo to the east, it straddles the town of Galván, Independencia towns of Cristóbal and Mella to the south, and the town of Villa Jaragua to the west. Neiba is approximately 204 km (*127 miles* west of Santo Domingo, and 87 km (*54 miles*) east of the Internatinal Border Line at Jimaní.

## Economy

Its main rivers and streams are: Las Marías, Río Panzo, Don Juan and El Manguito. Some of which, due to the great aggression against nature, have diminished their channel and others have disappeared, as is the case of, among others, La Higuera and Llantica (Cachón Séquito, Cachón Grande). This has significantly reduced traditional agricultural activity.

Holidays
Edit
Patron saint festivities of San Bartolomé Apostle, on August 24.
Carnivals
Municipal Fair of the Book and the Culture of Neyba.
Grape Fair.
Religion
Edit
Apart from the Christian religion, majority in the municipality, other religions have been progressively extended: Mita congregation in Aaron, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Adventists, Strong Tower, Mennonite, Pentecost, Church of Christ, among others; also the witchcraft and the superchería render services to the Saints with nights of candles, sticks of sticks ...

Sports
Edit
The sports that are practiced in the municipality are: baseball, softball, basketball, volleyball, soccer, handball, chess, dominoes, among others.

Economy
Edit
To support the agricultural economy, State Support Organizations have been established , such as: Dominican Development Council , CODOCAFE , INUVA, PROPESUR, Border Development, Wine Growers, Irrigation District of Hoya del Lago Enriquillo, Agriculture, Agricultural Bank of the Dominican Republic, PROMIP1ME. BANCO ADEMI, COOPACRENE, COOPASPANZO among others.

Agriculture
Edit
The most important crops in the municipality are: coffee and grapes. The municipality of Neiba was the first to export coffee to alternative markets in Europe, and for the industrialization of the grape, a factory for the production of wines, must, alcohol and jam is built, with the advice of the Government of Italy and Spain.

The grape arrives in the Americas on the second voyage of Christopher Columbus. Being introduced in Neiba. The first coffee seedlings were introduced in 1735 from Haiti.

Table grapes: Red Globe or Red Balloon , it is the innovation of the moment, from the installation of the Cluster of grapes.

A part is cultivated in a minority way banana, mango, beans, chinola, honey, lobsters, molondones ...

Livestock
Edit
The livestock sector is mainly dedicated to goats and cattle.

Services
Edit
Another aspect considered as an important economic activity is the presence of Commercial Banks and other financing institutions for productive projects, such as: ADEMI Bank, Váter, Prornipime, Estafetas Services of the Reserve Bank, Barahona Savings and Loans Association, Agricultural Bank , etc.

Transportation
Edit
Another economic activity is the amount-concho (local transport service).

tourism
Edit
Today the municipality has the Cultural Route of the Grape and Wine of Neiba, a route designed through a project of the Tierra Blanca Foundation, presented in the 2nd. Call for Cultural Projects of the Ministry of Culture held in 2015.

References