Grand Kru County
Encyclopedia
Grand Kru is a county
in the southeastern portion of the West Africa
n nation of Liberia
. One of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division
in the nation, it has eighteen districts
. Created in 1984, Barclayville
serves as the capital with the area of the county measuring 3895 square kilometre. As of the 2008 Census, it had a population of 57,106, making it the least populous county in Liberia.
Grand Kru's County Superintendent is Rosalind Sneh. The county is bordered by River Gee County
to the northeast, Sinoe County
to the northwest, and Maryland County
to the southeast. The southern part of Grand Kru borders the Atlantic Ocean
.
is the language of school instruction.
The primary industry is subsistence, largely slash and burn, farming. The most important crops are upland rice
, cassava
, palm nut
s, and along the coast, fishing. Feed corn
is grown at higher elevations farther inland. Sugar cane and several varieties of banana
s grow in the wetland areas. Cash crops include coffee
, cocoa and kola
. Locally grown bamboo
and piassava palm are widely used for construction, mats and baskets. Many tropical fruits, domestic and wild, grow in the region including orange
s, lime
s, mango
s, soursop
, breadfruit
and coconut
.
Poultry
, cattle
, sheep and goat
s are found in and around most villages. Most animals are of pygmy variety as larger varieties die quickly due to the heat and humidity. Prior to the civil war the region's extensive rainforest
s contained a wide variety of wildlife including wild pigs, bongo
, dik-dik
, pangolin
, civet
, pygmy hippo, African buffalo
and colobus monkey all of which are hunted for food and hides. Also found are snake
s, and very small populations of forest elephant
s and leopard
s.
Counties of Liberia
||There are 15 counties in Liberia, as of 2008.-External links:** Comprehensive resource about counties and districts of Liberia....
in the southeastern portion of the West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
n nation of Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
. One of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division
Administrative division
An administrative division, subnational entity, or country subdivision is a portion of a country or other political division, established for the purpose of government. Administrative divisions are each granted a certain degree of autonomy, and are required to manage themselves through their own...
in the nation, it has eighteen districts
Districts of Liberia
The counties of Liberia are subdivided into districts.*Bomi County**Dewoin District**Klay District**Mecca District**Senjeh District*Bong County**Fuamah District**Jorquelleh District**Kokoyah District**Panta-Kpa District**Salala District...
. Created in 1984, Barclayville
Barclayville
Barclayville, the capital and most populous settlement in Grand Kru County is located in southeastern Liberia about 10 miles inland from Picinicess. The Barclayville township of several thousand people straddles the banks of the Na River. Roads from Kanweaken to the northwest, Pleebo to the...
serves as the capital with the area of the county measuring 3895 square kilometre. As of the 2008 Census, it had a population of 57,106, making it the least populous county in Liberia.
Grand Kru's County Superintendent is Rosalind Sneh. The county is bordered by River Gee County
River Gee County
River Gee is a county in the southern portion of the West African nation of Liberia. One of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has six districts. Fish Town serves as the capital with the area of the county measuring...
to the northeast, Sinoe County
Sinoe County
Sinoe is one of Liberia's 15 counties and it has 17 districts. Greenville is the county's capital.As of the 2008 Census, it had a population of 104,932, making it one of the least populous counties in Liberia....
to the northwest, and Maryland County
Maryland County
Maryland County is a county in the southeastern portion of the West African nation of Liberia. One of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has two districts. Harper serves as the capital with the area of the county measuring...
to the southeast. The southern part of Grand Kru borders the 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...
.
History
Grand Kru was created in 1984/1985 by the merger of Sasstown Territory and Kru Coast Territory. Kru coast territory which had previously been part of Maryland County, and Sasstown territory which had previously been part of Sinoe county. As of the 1984 Census, the county had a population of 62,791. A UN Mission in Liberia report issued in April 2005 estimated that the population was 71,000.Demographics
The primary language is kru which is spoken in several significantly different dialects around the county with some areas identifying their language as buah and kplio. Liberian EnglishLiberian English
Liberian English is a term used to refer to the varieties of English spoken in the African country of Liberia. There are four such varieties:* Standard Liberian English or Liberian Settler English;* Kru Pidgin English;...
is the language of school instruction.
Districts
The county is divided into four districts:- SasstownSasstown DistrictSasstown District is one of four districts located in Grand Kru County, Liberia....
- BuahBuah DistrictBuah District is one of four districts located in Grand Kru County, Liberia....
- Upper Kru CoastUpper Kru Coast DistrictUpper Kru Coast District is one of four districts located in Grand Kru County, Liberia....
- Lower Kru CoastLower Kru Coast DistrictLower Kru Coast District is one of four districts located in Grand Kru County, Liberia....
.
Economy
The area has few roads which partially explains the relatively low population density. In June 2005 the UN Integrated Regional Information Network reported that the roads in Grand Kru had decayed and become overgrown by dense bush, rendering them impassable, except on foot, and that the bridge across the Nu River at Barclaville had been destroyed.The primary industry is subsistence, largely slash and burn, farming. The most important crops are upland rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
, cassava
Cassava
Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...
, palm nut
Palm nut
Palm nut can refer to:*The fruit of the oil palm tree*The fruit or seed of any palm tree...
s, and along the coast, fishing. Feed corn
Corn
Corn is the name used in the United States, Canada, and Australia for the grain maize.In much of the English-speaking world, the term "corn" is a generic term for cereal crops, such as* Barley* Oats* Wheat* Rye- Places :...
is grown at higher elevations farther inland. Sugar cane and several varieties of 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 grow in the wetland areas. Cash crops include coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
, cocoa and kola
Kola
Kola can refer to:*Kola nut, a genus of about 125 species of trees**Inca Kola, a cola soft drink made in Peru**Kola Real, a Peruvian soft drink**Kola Inglesa , a Peruvian soft drink...
. Locally grown bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
and piassava palm are widely used for construction, mats and baskets. Many tropical fruits, domestic and wild, grow in the region including orange
Orange (fruit)
An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....
s, lime
Lime (fruit)
Lime is a term referring to a number of different citrus fruits, both species and hybrids, which are typically round, green to yellow in color, 3–6 cm in diameter, and containing sour and acidic pulp. Limes are a good source of vitamin C. Limes are often used to accent the flavors of foods and...
s, mango
Mango
The mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world. It is also the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. While...
s, soursop
Soursop
The Soursop is tripti broadleaf, flowering, evergreen tree native to Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America, Colombia and Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela, Soursop is also native to sub-Saharan African countries that lie within the tropics. Today, it is also grown in some areas...
, breadfruit
Breadfruit
Breadfruit is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry family, Moraceae, growing throughout Southeast Asia and most Pacific Ocean islands...
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...
.
Poultry
Poultry
Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as "waterfowl"...
, cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
, sheep and goat
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
s are found in and around most villages. Most animals are of pygmy variety as larger varieties die quickly due to the heat and humidity. Prior to the civil war the region's extensive rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
s contained a wide variety of wildlife including wild pigs, bongo
Bongo (antelope)
The western or lowland bongo, Tragelaphus eurycerus eurycerus, is a herbivorous, mostly nocturnal forest ungulate and among the largest of the African forest antelope species....
, dik-dik
Dik-dik
A dik-dik, pronounced "dĭk’ dĭk", is a small antelope in the Genus Madoqua that lives in the bushes of eastern and southern Africa. Dik-diks stand 30–40 cm at the shoulder, are 50–70 cm long, weigh 3–6 kg and can live for up to 10 years...
, pangolin
Pangolin
A pangolin , also scaly anteater or Trenggiling, is a mammal of the order Pholidota. There is only one extant family and one genus of pangolins, comprising eight species. There are also a number of extinct taxa. Pangolins have large keratin scales covering their skin and are the only mammals with...
, civet
Civet
The family Viverridae is made up of around 30 species of medium-sized mammal, including all of the genets, the binturong, most of the civets, and the two African linsangs....
, pygmy hippo, African buffalo
African Buffalo
The African buffalo, affalo, nyati, Mbogo or Cape buffalo is a large African bovine. It is not closely related to the slightly larger wild Asian water buffalo, but its ancestry remains unclear...
and colobus monkey all of which are hunted for food and hides. Also found are snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
s, and very small populations of forest elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
s and leopard
Leopard
The leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...
s.