14 September 2010
BEIRUT: A project to renovate a model traditional village in the Jabal Moussa reserve was launched on Monday, with help from the Lebanese Army and the Italian Embassy in Lebanon.
The Association for the Protection of Jabal Moussa (APJM) announced in a statement that it began work on the renovation of a traditional model village in the Jabal Moussa reserve in Kesrouan, Mount Lebanon.
The initiative was part of a project to encourage ecotourism in Ftouh Kesrouan, with the sponsorship of the Italian Cooperation Office of the Embassy of Italy in Beirut.
The Lebanese Army also contributed to the project and an Army helicopter transported 13 tons of construction material from the nearby village of Mayrouba to the mountain last week.
Jabal Moussa was named a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 2009 and its model village contains houses with traditional architecture. “The old customary stones will be conserved,” the APJM statement said, noting that an underground water container will be created to provide the village with water for storage and irrigation.
The association thanked the Lebanese Army for its help and Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud, saying “it was his idea” to use the helicopter as a substitute to other transport that would be harmful to the environment.
APJM’s project in Jabal Moussa also included training locals to become tourist guides in their own region. Four local female guides graduated from the association last week. – The Daily Star
Copyright The Daily Star 2010.
