The village came first.
Ilat is a small village in the north of Lebanon — a few hur older, many of them retired from long servi much work in it for a long time.
Get in touch →Church land, put to work.
The orchard stands on land held under long lease from the Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Tripoli, under Archeparch Youssel Antoine Soueif, whose interest is in seeing quiet rural places develop rather than empty out. Ground that had never been cultivated now carries water, power, roads and forty thousand trees.
Worked by the people who live
around it.
The people who clear, plant, prune and water this orchard come from Ilat and the villages around it. The work is year-round rather than seasonal, and it will grow as the trees do - a young orchard needs hands long before it needs pickers.
Growing beyond the orchard
The farm supplies water to neighbouring land, brought services up to a hillside that had none, and supports what the village builds together - from the local basketball championship to the construction of the Church of Saint Semaan in Ilat.
Trees take years. So does trust. We are planting both.
