“Laying of irrigation pipelines that can enhance and preserve the water supply for agriculture, and capacitating the local farmers on better methods to increase their productivity and feasibility” is a project that is being implemented in Bouday by the Lebanese Organization for Studies and Training (LOST), funded by the World Food Program (WFP). This project aims at improving the agricultural sector in Baalbeck-Hermel and to increase livelihood and resilience levels of people of Baalbeck-Hermel through enhancement of water supply.
As part of the project, farmers and land owners of the plots where the main pipeline was being installed in Bouday were contacted and invited to several agriculture trainings. Ali Deeb Damen, a land owner that lives in Douris who had inherited the land in Bouday from his ancestors was very happy to discover the location of his land after LOST team surveyed and set up the coordinates of all the plots in the project. Mr. Ali Damen stated, “I knew I had a land in my village, but I never knew its location. Now after it has been planted, I will build a small house and a fence around the whole land to protect it”.
After LOST planted the land and installed the irrigation pipelines, and after attending the agriculture trainings, Mr. Ali Damen started with the fencing installation. He planted the rest of the land with pine and olives, and installed a water tank for irrigation.
This project gave people new hope for their lands. From a bare land to a fully planted and protected land, all it needed was some capacities and a little motivation.
