"Everyone is struggling with the same problems," says Hussein Ali Osman from Beit El Faqs in northern Lebanon. "We have no money, no fuel, no electricity." The fruit farmer is about to harvest his apples this year. He has to feed a large family from the proceeds. This year, things are especially tight as the global energy crisis and rising prices hit Lebanon's population hard. The country is in a deep recession and the Lebanese pound is losing value every day. Many people are in need, all wrestling with deprivation. "We have long since eliminated meat and poultry from the menu," says the farmer from Beit El Faqs.
The irrigation channels will last a lifetime. Our children and grandchildren will still benefit from this.
Every single apple, every apricot he can harvest is important to the family man. That is why he is very grateful that arche noVa has expanded the irrigation system in Beit El Faqs in cooperation with the local organization Mada. "Before the repair of the canals, the water took more than three hours to reach us." Even more seriously, there used to be an extremely large amount of water seeping along the way. "There wasn't enough to irrigate all the land. We had to leave part of it fallow," reports Hussein Ali Osman.
Expansion of irrigation systems
Since this year, the irrigation situation in Beit Al Faqs has improved significantly. Water from a nearby spring now flows effortlessly through new concrete canals. Everything has been renewed: the entire canal system, including the gates through which the water flows to the individual plantations. This is controlled by Kohdor Ahmad, who as Shahwish is responsible for the operation. In a total of three municipalities, he ensures the flow of water in the irrigation systems, operates the small sluices and gates, removes impurities from the canals and also collects the fees.
The plantations now receive about twice as much water as before. A lot of water was lost in the unlined canals.
Income generation in the Akkar region and North Lebanon
A total of ten villages are receiving a new irrigation system as part of our cooperation with the local partner organization Mada. Some of the villages are located in the Daniyeh hills, others at lower altitudes, where mainly vegetables are grown. The activities are embedded in a multi-year project that strengthens the resilience of Lebanese rural communities, which are also home to many refugees from neighboring Syria.
Together with our local partner organizations, we are contributing to food and income security. In addition to the rehabilitation of agricultural infrastructure, there are trainings on climate-adapted cultivation methods, distributions of seeds and tools, and income opportunities in the form of cash for work.
The second focus of the comprehensive project is the improvement of the drinking water supply. In this field, arche noVa has been active in North Lebanon and Akkar for several years.
