Location

Mohafaza: South
Qada’a: Jezzine

Bkassine is located 72 km. South-East of Beirut and is a 2 km distance from the center of the qada’a in Jezzine. It altitude is 950m. above sea level.

Population

The registered population reaches approximately 4,000, but in fact, residents do not number greater than 250. This figure rises to 1,200 in the summer season and there are 320 houses in the area. Bkassine has two mayors (Adel Attieh and Antoine Nammour), as towns with above 2000 voters are permitted.

The people of Bkassine mainly belong to the Maronite sect, with a few Catholics in the town. The people are divided into 46 families with the main families, in terms of number, being: Harfoush, Nammour, Helou, Nasr, Nadher, Saad, Azar, Hneineh, Younes, Afif, Hajjar, Ghanem, Attieh.

Local Authorities

The local authority is headed by a mayoral council, which constitutes 15 members lead by the attorney Abdullah Saad.

Educational Status

An elementary and secondary public school is situated in Bkassine and numbers 80 students. Private schools in nearby villages, and especially Jezzine, are attended by 70 students from the town. A religious school directed by nuns closed down years earlier due to a lack of students.

Commercial and Service Establishments

There are 12 commercial establishments in the town, which are a number of small shops selling foodstuffs and consumer goods, as well as two barber shops and two restaurants. Most of these establishments are suffering from recession due to the small population and low income of employees, as well as unemployment. In the summer season, business improves due to the increase in the number of residents, but it is still not enough to compensate for the eight months of recession.

Agriculture

Agriculture constitutes the basic feature of Bkassine, with the largest forest of pine trees in Lebanon located there. The mayoral council owns approximately 2 million square meters of land planted with 50,000 pine trees.

The area is leased to the inhabitants of the town, providing revenues totalling $50,000. The people harvest the pine seeds and production is estimated to reach 8,000 kg of pine seeds. The selling price of one kg is equal to $17, resulting in approximately $140,000 for those working in the fields. After paying lease and handwork fees, about $50,000 remains as net profit.

The other main agricultural produce is olives, with about 5,000 trees yielding 20 tons of pure olive oil annually. Moreover, there is some limited agricultural produce such as grapes and vegetables.

Special Characteristics

Bkassine is renowned for the presence of the thick pine forest in its town.

Challenges

The town is crisscrossed by high voltage lines, which limits construction on large pieces of land and causes scores of fires yearly, also destroying vegetation.

Bkassine relies on water that flows from old canals dug through the forest, gathered into a big well and distributed to households throughout the town. The problem of water intensifies in seasons of reduced rain and snowfall. leading to water shortage problems in summer, with the added residents and less water.

Also, the absence of a sewage system contaminates the underground water, especially after the establishment of many buildings at the height of Bkassine, further contaminating the forest and drinking water.