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Souk el Tayeb
Souk el Tayeb is an open-air weekly farmers market in Lebanon that specializes in organic food products. The market has three locations. Two locations are in Beirut, one at the Saifi Village and one at Rue Verdun. The third location is in the city of Byblos.

ADDED --> Souk el Tayeb was created as an experimental project in Beirut. Since its origins in 2004 as a market that advocates for small-scale growers and producers, Souk el Tayeb has transformed into a national organization celebrating Lebanon's culinary heritage, as well as a symbol of the country's efforts to preserve the environment through organic and sustainable agriculture. The mission of this farmers market is to create a space that allows people to interact with, and contribute to, the community - regardless of religion, belief, or origin.

The market is organized and run by a non-profit cooperative headquartered at 226, Rue Gouraud in Gemmayzeh. The organic cooperative spans Lebanon's regions, religions and sects. Souk el Tayeb receives funding from European governments and from nongovernmental groups. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Italian government donated $600,000 for food-related projects in Lebanon after the 2006 war.

ADDED --> Environmental Awareness
ADDED --> Not only does Souk el Tayeb promote high quality food and a healthy lifestyle, the organization is a proponent for environmental awareness. Souk @ School is an educational campaign that implements programs in local institutions. These programs can involve field trips to Souk el Tayeb, shadowing farmers that supply organic products, building sustainable schoolyard gardens, and encourage local youth to embrace the Lebanese culture.

ADDED --> Public awareness about environmental issues is a large part of Souk el Tayeb's mission. They promote green, sustainable living through the el Tayeb Press and Newsletter, as well as through a variety regional traditions and food specialties through the Food & Feast festivals) (which began in 2007).

ADDED --> Community
ADDED --> Not only was Souk el Tayeb created as a food distribution point, but as an intersection where all people can cross paths. One of their work-in-progress is a project called Eco-Souk; a single integrated location that brings Lebanese people to a sustainable space in Beirut. A stronger community can be built in this environmentally-minded space that is not only a farmers' market, but also a meeting place, a community garden and kitchen, a kid's eco-playground, a co-op shop and a mini sorting and recycling plant: all under green architectural design with locally repurposed materials, and clean energy. Eco-Souk is designed to be a flexible, adaptable space that can be molded to the user's needs.

ADDED --> Tawlet
ADDED --> Tawlet, meaning "table" in Arabic, was developed in 2009 as a part of Souk el Tayeb. This farmers kitchen, located in the heart of Beirut, invites a different rural producer or farmer to create home-cooked meals every day. In the cozy, informal setting of Tawlet, lunch is available daily from 1pm to 4pm. Tawlet works to showcase each producer with an open kitchen that features regionally specific dishes. Each day, a different region of the country is highlighted to encourage customers to explore the variety that Lebanese culture has to offer. Tawlet aims to bring the community together over a meal, and to start conversations about the rich and diverse traditions of Lebanon.

ADDED --> Atayeb Zaman
Kamal Mouzawak, the founder of Tawlet, teamed up with the United Nations High Commisioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN refugee agency. Women refugees from Palestine and Syria work side by side with Lebanese women in the Tawlet kitchen. The ultimate goal of Atayeb Zaman is to preserve the culinary traditions of Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon, and celebrating their rural heritage. Refugees working in the UNHCR kitchen can make a living for themselves, build a supportive community, and take part in empowering the women of Lebanon.

Atayeb Zaman CNN Video

Environmental Issues of Lebanon
Environmental issues of Lebanon stem from a number of sources, including the country's geography, politics, economy, transborder issues, and aestheics.

Geography
The Lebanon Mountain Trail (LMT) spans the entire length of Lebanon. The trail parallels the diversity found in the country – there is a range in people, geography, culture, and environment. A significant part of Lebanese culture ties together all four of these elements: food. Cuisine in Lebanon represents community, family, and regional pride, and is a symbol of identity as much as it is necessary for sustenance. Hospitality is also a quality that Middle Eastern people are known for, and part of hospitality is sharing food with local and foreign visitors.

The Lebanon Mountain Trail
The Lebanon Mountain Trail is over 275 miles in length and ranges in elevation from 1800 to 6000 feet above sea level. The trail begins in the northern town of Al-Qbaiyat and ends in Marjaayoun in the south. The LMT transects more than 75 villages, which is divided into 26 segments that can be hiked in about one day. Not only did the creation of the LMT help the local economies along the trail, it also promoted the conservation of the Lebanese environment. The trail is seen as a common heritage among Lebanese people, and they take pride its maintenance because it demonstrates their determination to conserve the unique environment. Changing the local mindsets and perceptions of the environment was the first step that led the Lebanon Mountain Trail to success.

The LMT inhabitants were incentivized to change their perceptions of the land with the expanding economic opportunities through ecotourism. Because of the rise in the ecotourism industry, villages along the LMT have begun to practice environmentally and socially responsible tourism by maintaining biodiversity in the area and minimizing impacts to the trail. The creation of this trail had a significant impact for the two parties affected the most: the people in the villages, and the tourists. Because the beauty, biodiversity and conservation of the environment brought many tourists, the locals adapted their habits and lifestyles to accommodate this increasing economic advantage – this was a motivation for the locals to become environmentalists. Because the people in the village were participating in the conservation of the LMT, (initially for aesthetic or economic reasons, but then for reasons of conservation), more tourists are drawn to the country and to the trail.

The Lebanon Mountain Trail project was an idea formed by Joseph Karam in 2002. This concept was fueled by his childhood memories of hikes through the Baskinta Mountains (in his hometown) with is father, and later in life, when attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the U.S., he gained an interest in the North American Appalachian Mountain Trail. Karam brought these two experiences together and formed the initial seed that would grow into the Lebanon Mountain Trail project. He wanted to create a hiking trail in Lebanon, similar to the Appalachian Mountain Trail, which would highlight the natural and cultural heritage of the country. In 2005, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded Karam's company ECODIT $3.3 million to start the project.

USAID Involvement
USAID was rather skeptical when initially allotting the money for the proposal. But when ECODIT completed the project in 2007, the results of the venture far exceeded the expectations and anticipated outcomes of USAID. Trails were meticulously test-walked and mapped using GPS systems and professional hikers and geographers. With the help of trained local guides and volunteers who were engaged with the process of creating the trails, eleven new guesthouses were established, and public areas in the villages were refurbished to prepare for high tourist traffic. USAID and the Lebanon Mountain Trail Association knew that if they attracted more tourists to the project, villages along the trail could perpetuate their rural traditions and heritage while building the community’s economy.

In 2006, senior members of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy visited Lebanon to provide recommendations for the development of the trail. ECODIT decided to upgrade certain demonstration sections with USAID assistance to encourage neighboring local communities to replicate these improvements on their own. With the aid of local partners, ECODIT was able to enhance 132 km of demonstration sections along the trail instead of the originally proposed 100 km.

USAID funded large sums of money to local guesthouse owners to remodel their businesses to attract more tourists. Guesthouse owner Michelle Khoury, 30, says that the $29,000 that USAID provided “brought back value to [her] grandfather’s house.” In order to bring even more tourists to the LMT, USAID launched a new campaign website entitled BeyondBeirut to provide visitors with information about the rich rural heritage sites and activities in Lebanon outside of the capital.

A Million Steps
Hana El-Hibri, author of A Million Steps: Discovering the Lebanon Mountain Trail, took part in hiking this rural heritage. Her book recounts her experience hiking on the LMT. Written in a journal entry/photo-journal style, El-Hibri verbalized and visualized her encounters with villagers along the trail and learned to appreciate the Lebanon trail through the locals’ perspective. On her travels, she is encouraged to hear the enthusiasm and commitment people in the villages have for the conservation of the trail and footpaths on the LMT. In almost every daily entry, El-Hibri recognizes the differences between the rural areas she passes through, and her home in Beirut. When invited into a home for a meal, the cooks often pulled fresh herbs or produce straight from their backyard and brought it into the kitchen. Their pride in the freshness and authenticity of their food was not subtle. El-Hibri talks about how cities such as Beirut are so different than these mountainous areas – all within the same country. The Lebanon Mountain Trail is an example of how distinct environments can be in the country. This means that unique types of food are grown throughout Lebanon.

A Million Steps Hana El-Hibri

People of Lebanon
There are a variety of people that live along the Lebanon Mountain Trail. While religion or identity differentiate within these populations, they all live along the trail. Taking the whole country of Lebanon into consideration, there are many different communities of people in the country. Hezbollah, a group that represents Shiite Muslims, mainly inhabit the capital of Beirut, the southern tip of Lebanon, and the northeastern quarter of the country. The Druze populations congregate in the middle of the country, just south of Beirut, while Maronites live mainly in the Mount Lebanon region. What makes the Lebanon Mountain Trail unique is that it cuts through all of these religious divides. The LMT runs right down the center of the country and incorporates many of the religions into the geography, culture and cuisine of Lebanon.

Via Lebanese and foreign tourists, the trail acts as a line of communication through the country. As visitors hike the trails, they are encouraged to support the local economies in towns and villages along the way: this includes staying in family owned guesthouses, hiring local guides, and dining at local eateries. During the development of the LMT project, hundreds of volunteers were mobilized to clear and blaze the trails. Many of these volunteers were experiencing connections along the trail for the first time in their lives. These connections included noticing how similar environments were, or seeing how different cultures had an analogous love for food, or even that everybody had developed a relationship with the land. The LMT hosts a variety of geographies, from snowcapped mountains and dry plateaus, to rushing rivers, grassy valleys and cedar forests. The Lebanon Mountain Trail highlights the country’s regional distinctions in culture, ecosystem, and food.

Souk el Tayeb
A few years before the creation of the Lebanon Mountain Trail, Lebanon's first farmers' market was established with this same idea - bringing the different regions of Lebanon together. Souk el Tayeb was created as an experimental project in Beirut. Since its origins in 2004 as a market that advocates for small-scale growers and producers, Souk el Tayeb has transformed into a national organization celebrating Lebanon's culinary heritage, as well as a symbol of the country's efforts to conserve the environment through organic and sustainable agriculture. The mission of this farmers' market is to create a space that allows people to interact with, and contribute to, the community - regardless of religion, belief, or origin.

In addition to promoting high quality food and a healthy lifestyle, Souk el Tayeb promotes environmental awareness. Souk @ School is an educational campaign that implements environmental programs in local institutions. These programs involve field trips to Souk el Tayeb, shadowing farmers that supply organic products, building sustainable schoolyard gardens, and encouraging local youth to embrace the Lebanese culture. Public awareness about environmental issues is also a large part of Souk el Tayeb's mission. They promote green, sustainable living through the el Tayeb Press and Newsletters, and they sponsor a variety regional traditions and food specialties through Food & Feast festivals (which began in 2007).

Food for Souk el Tayeb comes from people located in every region in Lebanon: from Beirut, northern and southern Lebanon, Bekaa Valley, and the Mount Lebanon region. The market is a mix of traditionally prepared dishes, fresh produce, dry products, and handicrafts. Each region contributes its own unique qualities to make the farmers' market a diverse place to purchase Lebanese items.

Souk el Tayeb wasn’t just created as a food distribution point, but also as an intersection where all types of people can cross paths. One of their work-in-progress is a project called Eco-Souk: a single integrated location that brings Lebanese people to a sustainable space in Beirut. A stronger community can be built in this environmentally minded area that is not only a farmers' market, but also a meeting place, a community garden and kitchen, a kid's eco-playground, a co-op shop and a mini sorting and recycling plant: all under green architectural design with locally repurposed materials, and clean energy. Eco-Souk is designed to be a flexible, adaptable space that can be molded to the users' needs.

Tawlet
Tawlet, meaning "table" in Arabic, was developed in 2009 as a part of Souk el Tayeb. Tawlet is a farmer’s kitchen, located in the heart of Beirut, invites a different rural producer or farmer to create home-cooked meals every day. The kitchen works to showcase each producer with an open kitchen that features traditional and regionally specific dishes. Each day, a different region of Lebanon is highlighted to encourage customers to explore the variety that Lebanese culture has to offer. Tawlet aims to bring the community together over a meal, and to start conversations about the rich and diverse traditions of Lebanon.

Kamal Mouzawak, the founder of Tawlet, teamed up with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN refugee agency. In the Tawlet kitchen, women refugees from Palestine and Syria work side by side with Lebanese women to cook delicious prepared food for the community. This project is called Atayeb Zaman. The goal of Atayeb Zaman is to preserve the culinary traditions of Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon, and to celebrate their rural heritages, together. Refugees working in the UNHCR kitchen can make a living for themselves, build a supportive community, share their culinary expertise, and take part in empowering the women in Lebanon.

Syrian Refugees
Syrian refugees are becoming an increasingly large percentage of the Lebanon population. As of July of 2013, an estimated two million Syrian refugees needed protection and assistance as a result of the violence in their home country. By the end of 2013, Syrian refugees living in Lebanon had reached one million – making up about one-third of the Lebanon population. These Syrian refugees integrate into Lebanese towns and villages, inhabit refugee camps, and live in makeshift tents or abandoned buildings when unable to find other accommodations. The refugees have populated every corner of the Lebanese geography. Lebanon is struggling to house and employ this additional million people in the country; especially when they are already housing tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees.

In the new homes and communities the refugees create, they bring their country’s culture and cuisine. One of the ways that Lebanon tries to assist these people is through the camaraderie of food and working at Atayeb Zaman. The way that Atayeb Zaman is bringing refugees together to build stronger support systems, the Lebanon Mountain Trail does the same. By connecting over 75 villages together and training about sustainable environmental practices, the LMT has built a strong economic support system through the growing ecotourism industry.

Ecotourism
Hikers from all over the world are drawn to the Lebanon Mountain Trail. Signage in some areas of the LMT remains rudimentary at best, so hikers are highly encouraged to hire local guides to safely lead them through the trail. This recommendation makes the LMT a cultural experience as well as a natural/rural one. Hikers are also encouraged to eat at local venues and stay in local homestays, family-run guesthouses, monasteries, hotels or campgrounds to fuel the new ecotourism economy in the area. This ecotourism industry started by the LMT not only brings tourists and wealth to the villages along the trail, but it allows international audiences to learn about the rich Lebanese culture.

Because the LMT spans the length of Lebanon, a variety of cultures within Lebanon are featured throughout each village. The differences in cuisines within the country are due to the region's tumultuous history, ecology, geography, social traditions, and influences. Lebanon is located an intersection of Europe, Africa and Asia, between the desert and the ocean, and is home to nomadic Bedouin cultures and coastal merchants. The country is a common destination for refugees fleeing war and oppression, as well as settlers and migrants. The Lebanese food culture reflects the diversity in the country's rich population. The LMT links many of these people together, and expands the cultural reach of Lebanon: inside and outside of the country. The diverse populations of people bring their culinary traditions together to create the diversity that is Lebanese cuisine.

Cedar Honey ('Asal al 'arz)
On the other hand, Lebanon is also unique in some of the country’s products. For example, cedar honey is an exclusive productto the country. Barouk, a town located about 45km from Beirut, sits in the shadow of the majestic Al Shouf Cedar Nature Reserve. While the region is rich with natural springs and water from the Barouk River, the combination of high altitude and steep terrain greatly limits the potential for farming in the area. But Barouk is known for a product from deep within their cedar forests - cedar honey. This honeydew honey is produced only in the forests of Barouk because even though there are many cedar trees in Lebanon, due to a requirement for mono-strain production (example: only one species, the cedar tree, is involved in this production of honey), beehives must be located within a 4 to 6 km radius of a single plant or species of vegetation (the cedar tree). Barouk is one of the three areas in Lebanon that fits this requirement and produces cedar honey: the Barouk cedar reserve in the Shuf region, and the Tannourine and Bcharreh reserves in North Lebanon.

Honeydew honey generally has a lower water and sugar content than floral honeys. Cedar honey in particular mostly likely owes its low water content to the specific geography of the region with the low humidity levels at high altitudes. The low sugar content is due to the fact that honeydew has lower levels of sugar than flower nectar. Cedar honey is known for its higher vitamin and mineral content than any other type of honey.

The creation of cedar honey greatly relies on three insects specific to the cedar forest geography: the aphid, the ant and the honeybee. In this symbiotic relationship, the aphid feeds on the sap produced by the cedar trees and excretes honeydew. The ant and the honeybee feed on this honeydew; the ant protects the aphid from predators, and the honeybee produces cedar honey. The Lebanese bee strain, "Apis mellifera syriaca", is the main producer of cedar honey because it is the only species of bee that can survive the vast climate and temperature fluctuations in the high altitude of the Lebanese mountains.

The unique environment of Lebanon pulls from many outside influences, but it also has a strong cultural and geographical base of its own. The Lebanon Mountain Trail bonds people together through traditional dishes and a recent environmentalist mentality. Food is a lifeline in Lebanon. It represents many different things for the country: hospitality and geographical diversity along the Lebanon Mountain Trail. For Souk el Tayeb, it represents the agricultural communities coming together and sharing food and knowledge. For refugees working at Tawlet and Atayeb Zaman, it epitomizes the creation of a new home, while still maintaining their own background and identity. Lebanese cedar honey represents the country’s unique environments and distinctive species, such as the "Apis mellifera syriaca" (Lebanese honeybee). The Lebanon Mountain Trail mentality of environmentalism, and the camaraderie of food disregards race, religion, and origin in a country that is made up of a colorful mosaic of people.