Pichelin

Pichelin is a village in the Saint Patrick Parish of Dominica. The village is located between Loubiere and Bagatelle Road. Its population is less than 300 and the people are mostly farmers.

Pichelin held the first village council in 1986. And Ms. Joyce Noel was appointed the Presiding Officer/Supervisor of the Pichelin Village Council General Election.

The village has a health centre, council office, community centre, basketball court, a church, and a recently constructed bridge. The village community took part in the Forest Day 2019 tree-planting activity at the Pichelin Riverside with the aim of reforesting the settlement.

Hurricane Maria of 2017 wreaked unprecedented damage on Dominica and the village of Pichelin was very impacted. Houses lost their roofs and many others crumbled with the flash floods.

The Catholic Relief Service and UK Aid were among international organizations that provided humanitarian and monetary relief to help rebuild the village and surrounding communities. In fact, the UK government provided £24 million for the construction of a climate-resilient road between Loubiere and Bagatelle and Pichelin aptly benefitted from the allocation.

His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales, Prince Charles visited Dominica in November 2017 following the devastation of Hurricane Maria, and particularly “stood among the ruins of Pichelin village, which was battered by torrential flooding and high winds in September, and sympathised with the residents who have remained.” The village school children of Pichelin also staged a local dance to entertain Prince Charles.