Local Development in Denbo

Analysis of the current situation and speculations

on future orientations

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Acknowledgement

This study was made possible thanks to the common efforts of many individuals and local institutions in Denbo. A local working group from Denbo contributed to data collection and the draft report formulation; this group included: Jawaher Taleb, Khodr Muhammad Saad, Wafaa Taleb, Youssef Muhammad Ali and Fadi Rachid El Achkar. Moreover, the Municipality of Mhammra, represented by its president and members, largely contributed to this study by helping in data collection as well as facilitating the work of the groups and proofreading the content of this study. We should also thank all sectors of the local community in Denbo for their collaboration with the working group and their efforts in providing all necessary information.

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TABLE OF CONTENT

1 GENERAL OVERVIEW.................................................................................................. 4

1.1 Etymology ............................................................................................... 4

1.2 Geographical Location .................................................................................. 4

2 DEMOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................. 5

3 CONSTRUCTION........................................................................................................... 5

4 INFRASTRUCTURE ...................................................................................................... 6

5 ECONOMY..................................................................................................................... 7

6 EDUCATION AND CULTURE........................................................................................ 9

7 HEALTH SECTOR....................................................................................................... 12

8 ENVIRONMENT AND ARCHEOLOGY ........................................................................ 13

9 LOCAL DEVELOPMENT AND GOVERNANCE STAKEHOLDERS............................ 13

10 CONCLUDING REMARKS .......................................................................................... 15

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List of tables Table 1: Population Spread per age and gender ............................................................................. 5 Table 2: Buildings and dwellings distribution per agglomeration................................................... 6 Table 3: Unemployment distribution per gender ............................................................................ 7 Table 4: Unemployment distribution per age ................................................................................. 8 Table 5: Workforce distribution per economic activity .................................................................. 8 Table 6: Crops distribution per cultivated lands ............................................................................. 8 Table 7: Commercial, Artisan and Industrial Sector....................................................................... 9 Table 8: Schools in Denbo: Type and Teachers’ Number .............................................................. 9 Table 9: Number of students in schools (from Denbo and outside Denbo) ................................... 10 Table 10: School distribution per teaching cycle.......................................................................... 10 Table 11: Extracurricular activities and recreational infrastructure in Denbo’s schools ................ 11 Table 12: Illiteracy rate distribution per gender ........................................................................... 12 Table 13: Chronic diseases distribution per gender ...................................................................... 12 Table 14: Distribution of handicap cases per type........................................................................ 12

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1 General Overview

1.1 Etymology There are many interpretations regarding Denbo etymology:

- First interpretation: “Delbo”, as a reference to the plane tree (in Arabic “Delb”) which was planted in the center of the village

- Second interpretation1: A compound term, consisting of “Dar” (House) and “Nabo” (the name of a Babylonian god whose name is still carved on a rock in the Watieh site).

- Third interpretation2: The “D” as a relative pronoun, and “Nabo” the god’s name, which means: What belongs to Nabo.

1.2 Geographical Location Denbo is located within the Central Qaytaa in Caza Akkar, Northern Governorate. It is situated at 600 meters above sea level. Its surface area is 1500 hectares (according to Maybes Company Report) It’s bounded by:

To the north: Bqerzla and Houweish To the south: Hrar and Hebshit To the east: Shan and Houweish To the west: Saysouk and Qloud El Baqieh

Denbo is characterized by high hills and mountains. Its summer is moderate and winter is harsh and cold. It’s located at a distance of 17 Km from the Caza center (Halba), 35 Km from the Governorate Center (Tripoli), and 125 Km from the Capital Beirut. Administratively, Denbo also includes Al Moubarakieh3 and Bejaa4. The main roads leading to Denbo:

1. Tripoli – Aabdeh – Bahsa – Hosnieh – Bqerzla – Denbo. 2. Qobayat – Qantara – Bqerzla – Denbo.

1 Lebanon in an Encyclopedia – Kamal Feghali – International Publishers - 2002 2 Ibid. 3 The name refers to the presence of black cumin (Baraka in Arabic) 4 The name refers to the swans (Bajaa in Arabic) which seek refugee in the village.

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2 Demography The total number of Denbo inhabitants is 15,000 persons5, from the Sunni population. They are distributed as follows: Number of registered residents (2005): 4.000 Number of voters (2005): 1.840 The population of Denbo has a very high percentage of young people below the age of 35 (65% of the total population) as clearly shown in the table (1) below

Age Below 21 21 – 35 36 - 65 Above 65

Gender Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female

Percentage 13% 17% 15% 20% 10% 15% 5% 5% Table 1: Population Spread per age and gender Denbo comprises some 1100 households, distributed on a certain number of families, namely: Taleb – Sayyed – Achkar – Allouch – Taha, etc. The average household size in Denbo is 8 members / family (and it may reach 12 members per family), which is a high average compared to the national average in Lebanon (4.64 members per household6). This is mainly due to early marriage which is widely common in the town, especially among young girls (15 – 18 years). As for population trends, the following facts should be noted:

- There are no newcomers in the town, excluding few workers who come from outside Lebanon.

- Migrant population is characterized by an increase in rural migration, especially among young population, who leave the town in search for job opportunities.

- As for immigrant persons, they represent 20% of the total population, and are mostly settled in Australia. They often come for a visit in summer. Due to the lack of work opportunities, immigration rate is expected to increase, especially among the young residents whose ambition is limited to getting an immigrant visa to Australia.

3 Construction Constructed area represents 30% of Denbo’s total area. The remaining area includes agricultural lands, wastelands and forests.

5 According to the Municipality. 6 Poverty Analysis and Targeting Mechanism for ESFD project - 2002

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Constructed area includes 1.500 dwellings distributed on 1.100 buildings, mainly concentrated in Denbo compared to other agglomerations, especially Al Moubarakieh, Bejaa and Bint El Jara, as shown in the following table (2):

Agglomeration No. of buildings No. of dwellings Denbo 480 76 Al Moubarakieh 180 16 Bejaa 50 5 Bint El Jara 30 3

Total 1100 100 Table 2: Buildings and dwellings distribution per agglomeration Most dwellings are owned by the residents; the average dwelling size is between 4 and 6 rooms, which is a small area compared to the big household size. Buildings’ height doesn’t exceed two floors, and most of them are legal, but they don’t comply with urban regulation. Field trips showed the following characteristics:

- Buildings proximity one to another - Bad external buildings’ aspect (most of them are not painted). - Lack of open space in front of the buildings due to their direct location on the sides of

narrow roads (especially internal roads). More than 85% of these roads are not paved and are full of cavities.

4 Infrastructure Most of the basic infrastructural services are quasi absent, especially sanitation and water. Sanitation: There is no sanitation grid in the village. The inhabitants rely on individual cesspools. 70% of these cesspools are rocky and are emptied 4 times per year (every three months), and 30% are sandy and emptied once per year through tanks which are emptied in the villages’ valleys. This operation costs every household 200,000 LBP per year, increasing thus financial burdens imposed on the town inhabitants. Water: Due to the lack of water grid, inhabitants rely on randomly dug wells (around 85 wells) from the fountains. However, these alternatives if available are in general unhealthy, costly and require physical effort from the residents. Denbo’s inhabitants get water from the town’s fountain which is polluted due to waste water disposal (this pollution led to the death of 7 persons in 1990). As for Al Moubarakieh and Bejaa inhabitants, they get water form Aaynouneh River. This operation costs every household around 360.000 LBP (Denbo) and 240.000 LBP (Al Moubarakieh, Bejaa) per year. It is to be noted that a well was dug in Al Moubarakieh, and Moussi Corp undertook its investment by laying a grid to nourish the dwellings with a tank for distribution. The project needed a big generator because of continuous electrical cuts. One of the residents purchased it at his own expense. He had an agreement with the town’s residents in order to turn on the generator for a monthly payment amounting to twenty thousand LBP for each dwelling. The grid is currently out of order and needs maintenance.

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Electricity: 90% of dwellings are connected to the grid. The problem lies in the following:

Weak available converters (140 Volts instead of 220 Volts, depending on residents) and their inability to ensure necessary energy for the number of dwellings; they also need reinforcement (replacing them with bigger converters)

Intensive electrical cuts. There are no private generators for dwellings due to high fuel prices. Thus, residents count on candles and neon lights. It is to be noted that there are some private generators in the village, functioning by subscription, but the percentage of subscribers is very low (not exceeding 3%) due to the relatively high rate of subscription (20.000 LBP per 90 hours of use). Telephony: there is a network laid from Bqerzla Central but it doesn’t cover Al Moubarakieh, Bejaa or Bint El Jara. It doesn’t even cover Denbo. The number of subscribers doesn’t exceed 50, and most inhabitants rely on cellular phones (around 2.000 subscribers).

5 Economy The average household income in Denbo doesn’t exceed 250.000 LBP per month, which is very low compared to the national average (471.000 LBP7). Unemployment rate is high, reaching 30%, a very high rate compared to Caza rate (11%8). It mainly includes females as shown in the table (3) below:

Males (%) Females (%) 22 98

Table 3: Unemployment distribution per gender Unemployment mainly includes age categories ranging between 36 and 64 years as shown in table (4) below:

7 Poverty Analysis and Targeting Mechanism for the ESD Project - 2002 8 National Strategy for Social Development in Lebanon 2005

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Age Category Males (%) Females (%) 21-35 years 15 97 36-64 years 50 98 Table 4: Unemployment distribution per age The family income depends on 4 essential economic activities, distributed as shown in table (5):

Economic Activity Workforce (%) Agriculture 45 Free Trade 25 Per diem activities 20 Employee 10 Table 5: Workforce distribution per economic activity Agriculture is considered as one of the main economic activities in the town, since it covers 45% of the workforce. Most of the inhabitants own small pieces of land (for local consumption), whereas big pieces are mainly owned by a limited number of individuals. The agricultural activity is seasonal, affecting thus the economical condition of households that count on this activity as their main source of income. The agricultural activity in Denbo mainly relies on olive, in addition to other secondary crops such as wheat, almond, grapevine and fig as detailed in table (6).

Crops Cultivated lands area (%) Approximate Annual

production Olive 60 300 oil barrel Almond 10 10 tons Wheat 15 10 tons Grapevine and Fig 10 10 tons Others (plum, barley and chickpea)

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Table 6: Crops distribution per cultivated lands The town lacks agricultural equipments and tools for public use. Thus, a great percentage of inhabitants still rely on mules and donkeys in order to transport their crops. Agriculture in Denbo suffers from the lack of agricultural industrialization projects, even though an olive press has been recently created and it serves Denbo and the neighboring villages. Denbo includes 20 poultry farms, run by private companies, with foreign workers due to the low cost of foreign workforce. Free Trades: They cover commercial, industrial and artisan sectors. 25% of the workforce relies on this sector as a main source of income. It includes a number of grocery and hairdressing shops (Table 7).

Type Number

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Grocery Shops 45 Hairdressing 10 Food 9 Pool Place 8 Car Repair 3 Wood sawmill 1 Soap production facility 1 Concrete plant 1 Traditional 1 Bakery 1 Clothes 1 Table 7: Commercial, Artisan and Industrial Sector 99% of these shops don’t have an official license. Per Diem activities: They include workers in the different fields of construction, transportation and tailoring, in addition to tourism and services (restaurants and hotels). It is to be noted that an increasing number of young people work in this field, in various regions of Beirut and El Matn. These activities also include women who contribute to agriculture in an unofficial way (such as picking wild herbs like sage and thyme). Employees: There are 10% of the residents who are employees in both public (especially army and gendarmerie) and private sectors.

6 Education and Culture Educational services in Denbo consist of four schools (three public schools and one private school). These schools are distributed between Denbo and Al Moubarakieh. The total number of teachers is 116, distributed as follows (Table 8)

School Name Type No. of Teachers

Denbo Public Mixed School Public 61 Al Moubarakieh Primary Public 12 Denbo Kindergarten Public 13 Sabil Al Rachad Private 30 Total 116 Table 8: Schools in Denbo: Type and Teachers’ Number The total number of students enrolled in these schools is 1863 students, and some 99% are from Denbo, as described in table (9) below:

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Number of Students School

From Denbo From outside Denbo Denbo Public Mixed School 1090 0 Al Moubarakieh Elementary 131 0 Denbo Kindergarten 272 0 Sabil Al Rachad 345 25 Total 1838 25 Table 9: Number of students in schools (from Denbo and outside Denbo) The cluster lacks secondary teaching facility; however, the available schools provide education for kindergarten (3 schools), primary (2 schools) and complementary (one school) cycles as detailed in the table (10) below:

Teaching Cycle

School

Kindergarten Primary Complementary Denbo Public Mixed School Al Moubarakieh Elementary Denbo Kindergarten Sabil Al Rachad Table 10: School distribution per teaching cycle Due to the schools inability to absorb the number of students in Denbo (around 3.599 students) from one side, and due to the lack of secondary education in the town from the other side, some 700 students are enrolled in schools situated in the neighborhood, namely in Bqerzla, Berqayel and Miniara, imposing thus additional transportation fees on parents. As for tuition fees for public schools, parents pay between 50.000 and 75.000 LBP per year, according to the cycle. As for the only private school available in the town, the tuition fees vary between 350.000 (for military families) and 500.000 LBP (for civilians). The total number of students enrolled there is 370. Regarding activities and services provided by these schools, there is a complete lack of extracurricular activities or necessary infrastructure for recreational and cultural programs. This problem is mainly observed in the three public schools as shown in table (11) below:

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Extracurricular activities and recreational infrastructure

School

Extracurricular Activities

Clubs Open Playgrounds

Covered Playgrounds

Computer Room

Library Laboratory

Denbo Public Mixed School

No No No No No No No

Al Moubarakieh Elementary

No No No No No No No

Denbo Kindergarten

No No No No No No No

Sabil Al Rachad

Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No

Table 11: Extracurricular activities and recreational infrastructure in Denbo’s schools As a result, drop out rate is around 20%, mainly concentrated in complementary cycle. The main reasons for school dropouts are:

- Automatic success leading to high failure rates in the complementary cycle - Lack of awareness as for the importance of education, among parents and young children - Tuition and transportation fees - Inability and lack of qualifications among parents to help their children with the new

curriculum. Few students are enrolled in universities. Their number doesn’t exceed 50 students, distributed on Deir Iimar Vocational Institute (10 students), Imam Al Ouzai University (2 students) and the Lebanese University in Qobbeh – Tripoli (20 students). Thus, many drop out students and young people who are not enrolled in universities stay in Denbo and work in fields that don’t require specific qualifications such as carpentry, agriculture and mechanics (in case such work opportunities are available), or move to Beirut and Matn to work in restaurants and hotels. In both cases, young people keep planning for emigration to Australia in order to work. In addition to all challenges facing education in Denbo, the town also suffers from the lack of recreational and cultural activities. It doesn’t include any of the basic services and activities dedicated to children and young population, such as: public libraries, sports fields, computers and internet centers, parks and public spaces. Thus, children and young people spend their spare time hanging out in pool places (8 places) or on the streets or hunting, which has negative impact on their cultural and intellectual state, and makes them more apt to delinquency. Finally, it is to be noted that illiteracy rate in Denbo is estimated at more than 20%, and it’s mainly concentrated in the age category above 40 years, especially among women as shown in table (12). This rate is superior to the one observed on Akkar Caza level which is estimated at 20%.

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Males Females 15.7% 33%

Table 12: Illiteracy rate distribution per gender Thus, qualified workforce available in Denbo is very limited, consisting of one engineer, one doctor and two lawyers (living outside Denbo).

7 Health Sector Denbo lacks medical and hospitalization services. It also lacks pharmacies, a resident doctor or even an ambulance. There is one private clinic (pediatrics) and it covers all residents’ needs. Due to the lack of these services, most residents turn in case of minor health problems to the Development Services Center, affiliated to the Ministry of Social Affairs in Bqerzla. In other cases, inhabitants have to take cabs and transport their patients to hospitals in Halba (at a distance of 17 Km) and Tripoli, or go to Al Bared River Camp where health services’ costs are low. The percentage of ensured population doesn’t exceed 30%, and most of them work in the military field and private sector. Most of the town’s residents rely on the Ministry of Health to cover medical and hospitalization costs (if available). Sometimes they take loans or get assistance from local leaders (deputies and ministers) The lack of health services from one side, and the poor economic condition from the other side prevent the inhabitants from getting the appropriate treatment. The table (13) below illustrates the number of chronic diseases cases which need continuous treatment:

Disease % Males % Females Blood pressure and Cardio vascular 2 --- Neurology 5 2 Diabetes 8 5 Asthma 4 1 Table 13: Chronic diseases distribution per gender As for handicaps, there are 37 cases distributed as follows:

Handicap Number Mental retardation 20 Quadriplegia 10 Deaf and Dumb 7 Table 14: Distribution of handicap cases per type Necessary services are not available for these cases, which suffer from total marginalization on different social, educational and cultural levels.

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8 Environment and Archeology Denbo’s natural wealth consists of an abundance of forests at peripheries, with poplar, oak and pine trees. Furthermore, the town is rich in water resources (fountains), but they become dry during summers. As for archeology, the town includes some unexploited archeological sites, namely:

1. Grottos 2. Religious sites: Sheikh Muhammad shrine in Bejaa and Denbo, and Sheikh Ismail shrine 3. Archeological rock in Watieh, with the god Nabo’s head carved.

There are some factors which endanger environment and population health, namely:

A- Artesian water pollution The main reason for this problem is the lack of a sanitation grid, and the mixture of waste water with fountain water leading thus to severe poisoning cases among children, especially during summer.

B- Fire frequency during summer Fires destroy vast forest areas that are difficult to access due to lack of roads.

C- Solid waste management Denbo’s municipality collects solid waste and disposes of them in a random way through two disposal lands (the first one located at the borders with Shan, and the second at the borders with Saysouq). This operation is highly costly, around 39 million LBP per year, i.e. the equivalent of 10% of the municipal budget for the year 2005 (consisting of 3 million LBP for the yearly land rental and 3 million LBP for monthly cost of waste collection and transportation).

9 Local Development and Governance Stakeholders There are no governmental institutions or NGOs in Denbo. The municipality has been recently created in the year 2004. It is made up of 15 members, all males. They are distributed on main committees: Works, Education, Health, Reception of Works, and Procurement. There are 3 Moukhtars (2 in Denbo and 1 in Al Moubarakieh) who were elected in the year 2004. The municipality faces many problems, namely the lack of human resources and the limited financial resources at its disposal. The town lacks human resources; the municipal council’s members work as volunteers in order to fulfill the different municipal tasks (treasurer, fees collection…).

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As for financial resources, the municipality’s budget for the year 2006 reached 400 million LBP, in addition to 256 million LBP as its share from “The Independent Municipal Fund”. Its local tax collection doesn’t exceed the amount of 15 million LBP per year. Since its election, the municipality undertook the implementation of a number of urgent projects, namely:

1. Roads widening and pavement 2. Construction of a part of the sanitation grid (400 meters) 3. Solid waste management through distributing bins on the town’s districts, then transporting

waste to an open land on the town’s peripheries and eventually burning them. The municipality has priorities and basic requirements in order to be able to activate development process in Denbo, namely:

1. Sanitation grid construction to prevent health and environmental hazards. 2. School establishment to absorb the great number of students. 3. Vocational school establishment (the municipality already applied for a license in this

regard). 4. Local community’s role mobilization, especially among the youth, in local development

process. 5. Health services provision.

Due to the lack of civil society institutions in the village (it is to be noted that an agricultural cooperative has been recently created in Al Moubarakieh, but it needs activation) from one side, and the weak municipal activities from the other side, there is a need for the necessary frameworks that may mobilize and activate the local community’s participation in the municipal work (planning common projects, their implementation and follow up) As for women’s participation in public life, it’s totally absent. Their role is limited to housework.

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10 Concluding Remarks This study clearly shows the general state of poverty in Denbo. This isn’t just reflected through low income rate, but also through the basic unmet needs on different educational, health, cultural and social levels. This situation generally contributes to exert further pressure on the residents who already suffer from poverty. According to the field work results, there are three main challenges facing Denbo:

A- The town’s future and young population The young population might be the most affected by these difficult conditions. They constitute a big percentage of the local community (65% of the residents are below 35 years). They face many problems:

1. Low education level. 2. Lack of qualifications. 3. Early economic activities, in fields that don’t require qualifications or high educational

levels. As for the youth aspirations and ambitions, they are limited to leaving the town in search of better living conditions. A large number migrate to the cities (especially Beirut and Al Matn) in order to work in restaurants and hotels, while others leave for Australia. This aspiration is common to boys and girls. Young girls just wait for the groom who will come from Australia in order to get married and leave the town. As for young people who stay in the town, most of them have low educational level. They begin working at an early age in fields that don’t require any specific qualifications (hairdressing, cars repair workshops, grocery shops...). Among the most prominent hazards that hamper local development in Denbo is youth migration which may increase with the increase of poverty level.

B- Decrease of agricultural productivity This study highlighted the importance of the agricultural sector as the main income source for a great percentage of the village’s residents. This sector is however menaced of vanishing due to numerous reasons, namely:

1. Small agricultural lands 2. Limited agricultural productivity. 3. Decrease of agricultural activity productivity; many farmers tend to give up their activity or

decrease its size.

C- Increasing deprivation As mentioned above, the town lacks various kinds of services. And would some of these services be available (such as public schools), they don’t meet the local needs; this is considered as one of the main reasons of school drop out.

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As for unavailable services, they are numerous, and their lack is reflected through deprivation that contributes to ignorance increase and social problems aggravation. The town lacks necessary infrastructure for health care services, as well as vocational training which may empower different social categories, especially the youth and women, to develop their skills and qualifications in order to enhance their productivity. Furthermore, environment is threatened due to:

1. Lack of sanitation grid and the use of cesspools which cause artesian water pollution (considered as the town’s main potable water source).

2. The use of environment unfriendly means in waste management since they are randomly disposed of.

In spite of these conditions, there are opportunities and components that are currently available in the town and which may be exploited and invested in order to elaborate a local development plan in Denbo. The main components are:

1. Immigrants’ funds which play an important role in providing the families with necessary financial support and in funding some of the urgent projects (it is to be noted here that immigrants play an important role in funding Denbo’s school, as well as providing other assistance, such as the recent funding for an ambulance purchase offered to the municipality).

2. Lands owned by the municipality 3. Denbo’s climate and fertile land which may be exploited in order to stimulate the

agricultural sector and adopt alternative crops which are highly competitive. 4. Youth abilities which constitute a main development component and a tool for voluntary

work stimulation. 5. Denbo’s natural components and forests, in addition to its religious shrines which may be

exploited in the field of ecotourism and religious tourism. 6. Availability of various qualifications and local skills which may contribute to human

capacity building, particularly among the young population and women.