Beit al Baraka

Context

For several years now, Lebanon has been in a state of gradual disintegration caused by political stagnation and a succession of crises. The vulnerability of the local population has only worsened, and people who were already in difficulty have exceeded all indicators of poverty and social misery. Between 2019 and 2021, vulnerability in Lebanon will become multidimensional, affecting almost 82% of the population, with 53% of children in Lebanon regularly going without meals.

The aim of Beit Al Baraka, a local NGO founded in 2019 by Maya Chams Ibrahimchah, is to provide a safety net for the Lebanese people, especially the elderly aged 65 and over who live in very precarious economic conditions, but also young people aged 18 and under who need educational programmes. The NGO's long-term, holistic approach seeks to develop models and projects that are sustainable and scalable, transforming dependent beneficiaries into productive, resilient local actors. 90% of the NGO's resources are invested in projects throughout the country: 30% in the North and Bekaa, 28% in the South and 42% in Greater Beirut.

Beit al Baraka's activities support populations that receive little or no government support, and aim to create a resilient and regenerative food system that provides food and employment for local people.

The project

The Beit Al Baraka Association is involved in urban reconstruction projects, the FORSA education programme, which keeps 32,000 young people in school, and agricultural and food activities.

Launched in 2019, Beit Al Baraka's free supermarket is based on a points system, so beneficiaries can buy the food of their choice, in an environment that doesn't feel like charity, but like everyday life for everyone. This supermarket brings food, hygiene products and, above all, dignity and a family atmosphere to vulnerable communities.

The agricultural projects, for their part, began in 2020 in the spirit of returning to the land to transform the hyper-dependent Lebanese model into a productive and sustainable agricultural system. Since February 2020, the NGO has been developing various farms to provide its beneficiaries with quality food every day, free of charge. The techniques used are organic and based on permaculture, which aims to protect the environment and ancestral know-how while promoting the rational use of natural resources.

• A 250,000 m2 farm in Nahlé dedicated to cereals, vegetables and fruit trees, as well as dairy products (100kg/day), more than 100 organic beehives, a henhouse and a processing unit (labné, laban…).
• A 150,000 m2 farm in Rechiine dedicated to responsible river fishing and fruit and vegetables.
• A farm in the western Bekaa dedicated to fast-growing leafy vegetables.

In addition to production, the NGO organises workshops with farmers to produce traditional seeds as part of an economic resilience and locavore approach. Solutions and formulations for fertilisation and plant disease control are developed using local natural products.

Beit al Baraka has six partners for its food security activities and relies on a network of 95 local NGOs in 62 towns and villages to disseminate its activities. For example, it has a partnership with Souk El Tayeb, with whom it distributes meals through the Hot Meals programme.

Achievements

Through its activities, Beit Al Baraka has been able to provide socio-economic support to 226,000 people, distribute 826,951 food and hygiene items and, thanks to its farms, provide healthy, nutritious and sustainable products to its beneficiaries: 150kg/day of dairy products, 18T of organic fruit, 2T of honey per year, etc.).

Little extra

In 2020, Beit al Baraka launched its social enterprise Kanz to provide economic support to young people and women in rural areas by creating jobs through activities promoting the culinary and traditional arts of Lebanon - currently supporting 1,000 women in 53 villages.

This leaflet was written by Lana Khouildi, LFC volunteer in February 2023.

Last modification : 29 Dec 2023.