Amid fears of a harsh winter that will sting the Bekaa Valley residents as it did last year, coupled with rising diesel prices and often a shortage, the preparations for winter have begun early this year. People are gearing up with firewood to endure the season with minimal cold.
With a month remaining before the inhabitants of the Bekaa focus on winter preparations, their needs vary from winter supplies, which were essential last year for many, to schools that will burden them this year with significantly rising fees and their dollar equivalents. Additionally, there’s the need for heating during the five months when cold and snow envelop the towns and villages across the Baalbek-Hermel governorate.
People are striving to secure heating means, whether by early diesel refills—which has become nearly impossible for most due to outrageous barrel prices—or through firewood, each according to what they can afford. A family in Baalbek-Hermel needs more than five barrels of diesel to last through winter, taking into account the economy and the need to minimize daily expenses.
The situation is not as it was before; with the rise of the dollar exchange rate in the black market impacting both essential and non-essential life requirements, the price for one barrel has reached $230—approximately $1,150, or 35 million Lebanese pounds needed by a family. Given that monthly salaries remain unchanged, employees and workers, alongside most social classes, find themselves needing their salaries for a year and a half to secure winter diesel. Hence, they begin looking for alternatives, with firewood being the common choice since it remains less expensive and does not require large amounts of money.
"Three tons of firewood are enough to get through the winter," says Abu Ali, the owner of a pickup truck stopped along the main road loaded with firewood. He tells "Nidaa Al-Watan" that the demand for firewood this year is greater than last year. "People from all jobs and social classes are asking for it, and I deliver the firewood to their homes. Prices vary according to the type and whether it is dry or green. Most traders sell green wood to increase their profits." He added that oak wood is the most sought after, with a ton costing seven million Lebanese pounds, followed by pine and eucalyptus. He noted that almond wood, the second-best in quality after oak, is not available.
Furthermore, there is an active trade of firewood being smuggled from Syria to Lebanon, where it is cut from orchards and trees seized by the regime and its allies after displacing their owners.
For his part, Mohammed, a worker whose salary barely covers his monthly household needs, has begun preparing and securing whatever firewood possible. He told "Nidaa Al-Watan" that he has secured three tons of firewood, which he believes will suffice for the winter at a lower cost than diesel. "First, we save half the price; secondly, after last year’s long experience, firewood provides better warmth than diesel, especially since the cold in our area seeps into the bones. We can also use tree waste after pruning, which helps reduce costs. I gather what I can from nearby orchards with my children," he concluded, stating that "the pressures are many, and life's demands leave us no time to catch our breath, as we are racing against time to secure what we can before winter."
