(20 August 2009)
The bus exits the highway, passing a checkpoint manned by one lethargic soldier, before beginning the winding ascent into the lush mountains of Shouf. The air cools as the road snakes its way up and around a banana plantation, palms sway in the breeze and shimmer under the sun.Every volunteer who comes to work at the EcoVillage in Lebanon is told to expect hard work. If they do not muck in enthusiastically they may be asked to move on or remain as paying guests. But in return for six hours’ labour per day, volunteers are provided with food and accommodation, usually in shared tents of two or three. Once work is complete we are free to do as we please.
Tarek el Tayaro, operations manager, tells me that “it is the spirit of the volunteers we need, because the EcoVillage is a vision”. The EcoVillage was set up in 2005 by a small group of friends who all share the same passion for nature. It is a rural community attempting to live with nature, causing as little impact as possible on the environment by using alternative energy, ecological building and design, organic farming and more.
The vision is to create a sustainable future, living in a way that preserves our planet, as well as educating and inspiring others to do so. “We want to get everybody involved,” Tarek says, as long as they are tough and ready.
Jobs vary from anything as menial as wiping the linoleum covered tables clean of dead moths and other debris, to helping out on the organic farm. The idea is that, no matter what you do, you are taking part in a sustainable project that could last for generations to come.
On my second day I help to fill empty coffee bean bags with silt deposited by the river. This is done to reinforce existing dams and create new ones by diverting a larger volume of water down the canal that leads to the hydro-turbine.
Temperatures are high in the day, and working under the baking Mediterranean sun can become a personal test of endurance. However, working in the cool waters of the river, doing my best to avoid slippery rocks covered with algae, is both refreshing and cleansing. The water is so pure, I am told, it is used for drinking.
“The river here is the vein of the village. Without the river there is no village,” Tarek says. “We benefit from it in so many ways. It generates electricity for the village, it irrigates our crops and you can swim in it.”
Because of the river and the hydro-turbine, the village is immune to the daily power cuts that are part of the everyday routine in much of Lebanon.
“Any chemicals we use here are organic chemicals that have come from flowers and extracts from other plants. Sunflowers, for example, contain a natural chemical that drives away flies. The fertiliser comes from our compost box and the manure comes from our goats and chickens,” Tarek says.
For lunch we eat rice and Sri Lankan vegetarian curry, with vegetables harvested from the farm. It couldn’t be any fresher, and it tastes delicious. Meals vary from day to day. I enjoyed vegetable stews, curries and pies, and each day my stomach and taste buds were satisfied. No volunteer to date has complained about the cooking, Tarek informs me with a confident grin, and many volunteers have passed through, he says, unsure of the exact number.
When Jean-Paul, a Frenchman, returns to work at the village for a second time, we drive the Toyota pickup truck up the only dirt road leading out of the village to collect large logs that will be used as timber for a forthcoming project. We nearly take out a fledgling tree on the way down but it survives and we unload the wood near the kitchen, testing our physical strength.
“The EcoVillage is a chance to live and work in a sustainable way, one that could help preserve the future of the earth,” says Jean-Paul. “I have volunteered at other villages before. This one still has a few things to learn, but I find I can teach them a few things, and they can teach me a few things.” Ecovillages adapt as they develop, he says.
Volunteers who pass through the village come from different countries and backgrounds; it is a place where unlikely friendships can be made. Paul and I joke that we are bridging the gap between France and England, thawing ancient icy relations. Generally, volunteers tend to be like-minded, but an element of luck is involved concerning who you may end up with.
Summer is usually a busy period for the village but I came when it was quiet. This did not leave me with much to do after work, however. Although it is easy to laze away an entire afternoon swinging on a hammock beside the river, the sound of the rushing water soothing the soul, the EcoVillage is in an area worth exploring while the days are light.
Guided hikes can be arranged around the valley, home to various medieval ruins and military barracks left behind after the Second World War amidst thriving vegetation.
In most cases, lifts can be arranged to Dmit, the nearest village 15 minutes away, where regular buses run to Beitedeine, a pleasant village and home to a magnificent 19th century palace that goes by the same name. In the village of Deir al Qamar, about five kilometres from Beitedeine, is the 17th-century Palace of Fakhreddine, rebuilt in an Italian renaissance style and now housing a wax museum.
Service taxis can be found in Beitedeine near the palace. Although unlikely to run after dark, there should be drivers willing to take you back to Dmit, or on to Deir al Qamar. An annual festival runs through July and August in Beitedeine, featuring various international and Arabic performers.It is possible to negotiate a taxi from Beitedeine to the Shouf Cedar reserve (www.shoufcedar.org), and marvel at the splendour of Lebanon’s famed and endangered native trees, displayed proudly on the national flag.
The EcoVillage can take up to five volunteers at a time all year round, and people can book as late as one week in advance although they cannot be guaranteed a space. In winter, the temperature drops significantly, adding a new element to any outdoor manual labour. The typical length of stay is one week but, if seriousness is shown, people are welcome “as much as possible”, Tarek says.
The EcoVillage in Shouf, alongside hundreds of others around the globe, is a part of the Global Ecovillage Network, which proclaims on its website (http://gen.ecovillage.org) that “ecovillages are one solution to the major problems of our time ... According to increasing numbers of scientists, we have to learn to live sustainably if we are to survive as a species.”
“In the EcoVillage you can really feel that giving is beautiful. You feel that you have achieved with the people something that is good for the future of Mother Earth,” Fatina Khatib, the owner of the village, says. “It is a dream but we ask all our volunteers if they are tough and prepared for hard work.”
If you go:
The place: The EcoVillage (www.ecoecovillage.com) is just outside Beirut, in Shouf where regular buses run from Cola.
To book, email ecovillage1@gmail.com, or telephone 00 961 3211 463 up to one week before arrival ]
The package: Volunteers stay and eat free of charge in return for six hours’ labour per day of their stay. Otherwise, guests are asked to pay for their food ($15; Dh55 per meal) and acommodation. A bed in a tent costs US$10 (Dh36) and a bed in a cottage costs from $20 (Dh73) per night
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