Saint Paul Capisterre is one of 14 administrative parishes

Parishes of Saint Kitts and Nevis

The Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis is divided into 14 parishes. Nine parishes are located on the island of Saint Kitts and five on Nevis. The parishes are drawn like pie-slices from the ridgeline of the central mountains of both islands....

 that make up Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Kitts and Nevis

The Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis , located in the Leeward Islands, is a federal two-island nation in the West Indies. It is the smallest sovereign state in the Americas, in both area and population....

. It is the second smallest parish on St. Kitts, and third smallest in the federation. The parish capital is Saint Paul Capesterre Village.

Land

The coastline of Saint Paul Capesterre is riddled with many small bays, with thin strands of stoney black volcanic sand. Sheer cliffs form an immediate backdrop to these beaches, lining the entire coast. The rough Atlantic Ocean pummels the shoreline, and thus all settlements in the parish are inland. Saint Paul Capesterre consists mostly of flat and gently sloping terrain, which is almost completely covered by abandoned sugar estates, with small farm holdings dotting in between. Further inland, where the terrain begins to rise sharply on the slopes of Mount Liamuiga

Mount Liamuiga

Mount Liamuiga is a stratovolcano which forms the western part of the island of Saint Kitts. The peak is the highest point on the island of Saint Kitts, in the federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, and in the entire British Leeward Islands, as well as one of the tallest peaks in the eastern...

, agricultural dominance gives way to lush tropical rain forests. This coupled with views of neighbouring Statia, Saba, St. Barths and St. Martin make it a very photogenic area.

Villages

Capital - St. Paul Capesterre Village (St. Paul's)

Other Villages:

• Belmont Estate
• Cranston Estate
• Newton Ground

The parish consists of two large villages, Saint Paul Capesterre (St. Paul's) and Newton Ground, and their two subsidiary villages, Belmont Estate and Cranston Estate respectively. All settlements are inland. The village of St. Paul's is home to the current national leader, Dr. Denzil Llewellyn Douglas

Denzil Douglas

Denzil Llewellyn Douglas has been Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis since July 1995. He leads the Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party. He is the longest serving Prime Minister Saint Kitts and Nevis has ever had....

, and was also the hometown of the nation's first premier Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw.

Economy

The parish of Saint Paul Capesterre is the most agricultural in the entire nation, its rich volcanic soils, gentle terrain and high rainfall all owing to its successes. The bulk of the population once toiled on the surrounding sugar cane estates, however, the local sugar industry was shut down in 2005, following plummeting world sugar prices and a growing national deficit. More residents from Saint Paul Capesterre were left unemployed than in any other parish. To ease the burden of unemployment, tracts of land have been leased and sold to former sugar workers and are now used to produce a wide variety of other produce. Tourism is also an industry in the parish. The Rawlin's Plantation Inn, in the parish's Eastern interior, employs some local persons. There is a restaurant located at the inn as well as an atelier owned by British artist, carver, sculptor and weaver Kate Spencer. She also owns a display and shop in Basseterre

Basseterre

Basseterre , estimated population 15,500 in 2000, is the capital of the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis in the West Indies. Geographically, the Basseterre port is located at , on the south western coast of Saint Kitts Island, and it is one of the chief commercial depots of the Leeward Islands...

. Her works include still life, watercolor prints St. Kitts/Nevis style, silk pareos and an array of souvenir material adorned with her colorful images. Belmont Estate, whose name graces the local Belmont Estate rum, is of cultural significance; home of the legend of 'The Bull' in local floklore. It is also the start point for hikes by Greg's Safari Tours and other thrill seeking companies.

Future developments

To ease the burden of unemployment in the parish, major plans are in the future to develop a large hotel / villa complex on the foothills of Mount Liamuiga near the village of Saint Paul's. The project, named 'Kittitian Heights,' will feature an artist's village, state of the art recording facilities, and hotel and villa developments all in the lush tropical setting. Initial construction has already commenced.