I don't know
I guess God loves me because I'm able to come to these houses in Lebanon
I'm discovering Lebanon
and meeting these amazing people
I don't know what to say
I'm good using the shovel no?
I'm a pro
I can smell the olives while working
I remember when I was young, working in the garden at the mountains
you're used to see me eating first
a hummus, beans and Mankeesh breakfast
but today is different
I cam back to Shouf
I will show you Shouf in a different way
I will show you how each one of you can make a difference
I cam back to Shouf
and I have a shovel with me today
why do I have a shovel? Because we're going to do something new
of course there is delicious food in Shouf
and there is the reserve
and hotels
but it has much more than this
who will talk to you about them? Nizar my friend
I believe that he's one of the best guys that are working for the Lebanese environment
so Nizar, we're back in Shouf
what are we doing today?
today is going to be different
today we're talking about sustainable agriculture
also agricultural production and animal production
we're doing conversion of products
and agricultural tourism
today we'll make sure if you know Shouf good enough or no
to work
let's go
Anthony, the mix that we're seeing today
is made from sawdust that is from the agricultural land
it's the remaining of the agricultural waste from the land
and Peat from the olive tree
the reason we make this mix
is to produce industrial firewood
or it's called compressed firewood
it's an alternative of cutting trees
instead of cutting firewood for heating in winter
we use this instead
so it starts here
this is the remaining of the agricultural waste
this is the olive peat
we collect this from the mills
so you mix it together
it ends up looking like this
this is 2 days old, it's still soft
it still needs 10 to 15 days to become like this
ready for packaging
it is sold in this box
this box cost 5,000LL
I broke my back
only for 5,000!!
Batloun valley will be next
thank you
I promise you that I will be adding a fireplace chimney in my house, just because I like the idea
and I feel that I can make a difference in nature
I finished my cup
we arrived to Batloun village
usually we see old houses in Lebanon
but we don't see a whole village that is still the same
it is not ruined, although there is no roof to the house
but it's still a village
tell us more about this place, it's really beautiful
indeed
here is the old Batloun village
Batloun had 22 houses
they we're built in Batloun valley
we call it Batloun Al Tahta
in the year 1956 there was an earthquake and all these houses we're destroyed
so this experience is about bringing back the old ways
you're bringing back agriculture and how the farmers used to live
you have to go down in the truck to live the experience
true, 100%
the experience is really nice
in the truck you have an open view, it's not siting in a car or a van
you will feel the beautiful energy of the valley
the breeze of the river
and the smell of Nut Tree
it adds excitement to the trip
before we arrive to the agricultural part and the breakfast later on
we started feeling that agriculture is decreasing a lot in our village
the farmers are old now
and it's all traditional cultivation
so we came up with a new project
a youth cultivation
cultivation in new techniques
it's all organic and sustainable
so we teamed up together with around 15 to 20 guys from the village
we're taking the land that is abandoned from people
it's all organic planted
Chicory
Rocket plant
parsley
everything
while touring Shouf, I'm discovering new things about it that I didn't know about
Shouf has agriculture
it has natural products, we're not going to call them organic
people are planting and taking care of their land more
tell me what's your dream or goal, and what are you doing
first thing
we are reviving the old abandoned lands
this is the first thing
second thing is
we're doing the cultivated lands in a sustainable way
the Shouf Biosphere Reserve
it's not just Shouf Reserve
it's not the Shouf Cedar Nature Reserve
the Shouf Biosphere Reserve is the whole Shouf area
you're taking care of it
true
the main objective that you have in the coming years is making everyone plant good
and work more
clean their lands more and taking care of the water
you're working on a big concept
if anyone wants to know if they're eating clean/healthy vegetables and fruits, they can visit you
there is also young people here
you come to Shouf and you can pick your fruits by yourself
as you can see it's 100% natural
you can hear the sound of water fountain in the ground
they can have lunch here
delicious food of course
from the village?
yes it's all healthy food
it's really sweet
let's have a walk down there?
we'll do
I will defiantly come back to taste the delicious food
you are welcomed
everyone should come here
wait the camera has dirt on it
great
you can see now
we arrived to Ramzi
come meet him
hello
Anthony: how are you?
Ramzi: welcome
we're in a land
tell me what do you do here?
this land was neglected for over than 50 years
in the times of our grandparents
it's a good land
Mr. Khaled came to me and offered the organic food project
organic cultivation
all this land was like this, as you can see
this project was our goal
how cool it is for a person that used to farm in a traditional way
that used grab the hose to throw water everywhere
and now you're 500% convinced that the old watering way is wrong
true
Anthony: you want to have organic land
Ramzi: 1000000%
it's better for me now that I don't have to grab the water hose on my back
you're getting the same result even better
the result is in front of you, now you'll take pictures
let's go
we're always talking about planting things next to each other so they can help each other grow
we're seeing that Basil is planted everywhere
we make the Pesto from Basil
it smells nice, we use it in all foods
this is what you call organic cultivation, sustainable agriculture
this is what we want and all of us should work this way
I've never seen more generosity than this
he picked them up one by one
I've been shouting to him to stop but he insisted
thanks
I'm glad I met you
I hope everyone come here
if you want to visit him you can call the Al-Shouf Cedar Nature Reserve
they will give you the numbers of each person and where is he located
they will take care of you as much as they took care of me
these are the goods of Ein Zhalta
he wanted to salute Mayor,  Al-Shouf Cedar Nature Reserve and everyone
and salute his mother
yeah
I don't know how we met or ended up here
what I know is that I'm eating fruits and vegetables from morning
I know that the clothes of this lady are wonderful
she brought me up to here beautiful garden to tell me what does she do other than planting fruits
what we're doing now is a continuation for the work of a genius man
this man is called Boutros Njeim
we started planting the trees
the other trees were starting to grow
but I said to myself what should we do while waiting for the tree to grow?
I said let's plant lavender
and then started with the essential oil project
welcome to Jbai, I’m the mayor Ehab Hammad
this activity is made to show that Jbai has environmental tourism
especially agricultural and environmental tourism
Jbai is a town, 1,250m high from sea level
most of it is agricultural land
60 to 70 percent of people that live here are farmers
so this activity is a start up for the environmental work
and tourism
I hope everyone is happy
you are welcomed
we opened a new pathway called Darb Al Hajal
the distance of Darb Al Hajal pathway is almost 2.5 kilometers
and now we're opening a new pathway that is almost 10 kilometers
the 10 kilometers pathway reaches the foothill overlooking the Western Bekaa
there is an amazing panoramic view up there, it's wonderful
I wanted it
we are going to walk on the moon
Houston!
can you hear me?
we arrived to the bees
I will walk on the moon
now we will get to know why bees are very important in Lebanon, especially in Shouf
hi Raed
let's walk together
and go collect honey
lately we're talking about how important are the Lebanese honey and bees
today you will see an unseen footage for the first time
inside the apiary
and we'll talk about the importance of honey
here we have wide pastures
we have a large number of flowers
almost 70% of these plants are medicinal plants
that's why our honey is special
it has a high nutritional value
our honey is distinguished worldwide also
because this honey is made from a mix of several different flowers
there is no honey ranking in Lebanon
there is 3 seasons
in spring we focus on citrus
magnificent
I'm eating honey that is fresh and live collected under the sun
nothing feels like it
wow!
the taste of nature
the sweetness of it is very light
it smells very good
when you take a bite you can feel and know Lebanon
here with this man
we arrived to the Fortress of Niha in Shouf
you are welcome
here we're in the Fortress of Niha, it's the last entrance of Al-Shouf Cedar Nature Reserve
this fortress has an old history
it's more than 2,800 years old
many civilizations came here, but till now no one knows which civilization dug in the rocks
can you take us with you?
yes sure
let's go
this is Eyad
where are we going
we're going to the sawmill
we will mince the wood
let's go mince
tell us more about compost and mincing
compost and mincing is from the trees
we widen the land
we widen the land and remove trees for the goats to reach and eat
now the goat has space for grazing
the bricks that we make are made from the minced trees
the second mincing process is for making the compost
to mix it with organic materials and food
it's important for the land
nothing goes to waste from nature?
no
it's not good beneficial to just burn them
true
this is usable and very important
now we're going to the crusher
right
we will show them how they crush mountains
and how they ruin them
and we'll show them how they sell gravely for all countries around the world
alright let's go see the crusher
for how much are you selling gravely?
did you believe that they sell gravely here in Shouf?
or even having a crusher to ruin the mountain and nature?
of course no
but there is someone who did this before and made some profits
so tell me what is this project today? And where are we?
we're in the crusher site that was in the war days
by the efforts of the curators of this area
this place will be renovated
and planted with trees
now you will see the other side how it's newly planted
if God wills, this place will be the 5th entrance of Al-Shouf Cedar Nature Reserve
by the next couple months
and within couple of years you'll see all this area green as if no one touched it
I wish all crusher site in Lebanon will be renovated
I wish that they will fix all these ugly white mountains
as you can see this place is getting ready, the pine trees are growing
I'm sure that in the next couple months when we come back here it won't show that there was a crusher before, even my children won't know
true true
this is what we're working on
I spent two days in Shouf, and now I'm talking to myself
I didn't believe what I saw
it's said that it will be like what they say on News, that Lebanon is dirty
but everything was clean
it's said that in Lebanon all people throw garbage from their windows
but here everyone is taking care of their land
it's said that in Lebanon all plantings are sprayed
but here everything is clean
it's said that people in Lebanon don't know about organic food
and everyone is living the same
but here everything is the opposite
it's said that there is no greenery
no forests
or no reserves
but what I discovered was mesmerizing
2 amazing days in Shouf
I came here, didn't know what to expect
I started this episode
and episode that was about knowledge
love
understanding
everyone wants to learn something new
and there are people that are teaching them
how can I forget Houssam?
whose taking care of his land and planting tree by tree
one by one
he's proud that he just pick them up and eat
how can I forget Ramzi?
Ramzi who is a farmer for his whole life
he used to plant randomly and how he was taught
he used to spray water
but now he's speaking about nature and how organic food is made
his production is increasing not decreasing
the tree pathways
the welcoming houses and people cooking in their homes
they are people that you can live with
it was a mesmerizing trip
this is Lebanon
no one talked about politics or drama
no one reminded me on the News
no one spoke of such things
I felt like living in the best country in the world
it's Lebanon
it's like living in Europe where people respect their land
so please, we're keeping this land for our children
my children and your children
to protect it and talk about it
an amazing trip ends now
I hope it was an awareness episode
every person who watched it should know how to act
how to plant, what to eat and where to throw
and many many more
for it to stay the best country in the world
we'll meet next time
in a better episode
to show the world how civilized we are and how much we love our country
