Kouachra

Location

Distance from Beirut	Altitude (meters)	Surface (ha)
		558

Municipality address

Sources : Office of the Minister of State for Administrative Reform (OMSAR)

Phone Number	Fax Number	E-Mail	Web sites
06/ 830 523	06/ 830 523

Données électorales

Sources : Ministry of Interior and Municipalities (Republic of Lebanon)

Données électorales 2010

Registered voters	Effectifs du conseil municipal	Effectifs moukhtar

Données électorales 2016

Registered voters	Effectifs du conseil municipal	Effectifs moukhtar

Revenue of Independent Municipal Fund

Sources : Official Journal (Lebanese Republic)

Year	Revenues (Thousands Lebanese Pound)
2014	201 423
2013	130 095
2012	126 706

Education

Sources : Central Administration of Statistics (Lebanese Presidency of the Council of Ministers) - Office of the Minister of State for Administrative Reform (OMSAR)

Educational establishments (2006)	Public	Private	Students schooled in the public schools	Students schooled in the private schools
-	-	-	-	-

Higher Educational Institute	Public	Private
-	-	-

Location

Kouachra, which is located 130 km away from Beirut and 38 km north of Tripoli, is situated in the Akkar caza in the mohafaza of North Lebanon. The village covers an area of 650 hectares, and stands at an altitude of 4,000 meters.

Origin of the village name

Some analysts believe the name is Semitic in origin, meaning success, and attribute this to the success stories of many of its residents.

Others argue that the name is originally Turkish, and point to its geopolitical importance to the Ottoman army. Kouachra was a fortified village and safe shelter for caravans travelling between Egypt and Turkey. Several Turkish tribes settled in the village and many of its present-day residents are their descendants.

Population

The registered population is an estimated 1,100, but permanent residents number 650 at the most, distributed among 130 households. The rest of the registered population is mainly found in North Lebanon and Beirut.

Number of voters

Registered voters number around 780, and are mostly Sunni. Some of the largest families, based on the number of voters, are:

 Khodr: 135

 Itawi: 75

 Abdo: 67

 Asa’ad: 53

 Hassan: 45

 Mustafa: 45

 Ismail: 44

 Ibrahim: 36

 Ali: 30

 Abdallah: 23

 Mohammad: 23

Local Authorities

The village set up a municipality based on Decision No. 103 (6 February 2004) and has one mayor and a mayoral council made up of three members.

Educational and social institutions

There are two schools in Kouachra:

• The Kouachra Co-ed Public and Elementary School, with 230 students and 17 staff members (in 2001-2002).

• The Nour Hoda High School, a free private school, with 1,036 students and 58 staff members (in 2001-2002).

Economic Activities

Main sources of income for the village are agricultural and artisan activities, while apiculture offers some extra income. Main crops harvested include tobacco and cereals.

There are also 20 commercial institutions in the village, meeting residents’ basic needs.

Public Services

Kouachra’s water is provided by the Akkar Water Administration, while electricity comes from the Qadisha Electricity Administration, through the Qobayyet station. However, there is insufficient water and electricity, so residents rely on spring water and man-made wells for domestic use and irrigation, while electricity is provided by generators.

Village characteristics

As many Kouachra residents are Turkish in origin, many of the older generation still speak Turkish and students, who speak Arabic in school, still converse in Turkish at home.

Kouachra is also known for its lake, which was installed in 1964 to promote tourism and irrigate around 50,000 hectares of land. Owing to heavy pollution, however, the area never developed into a tourist site, and the lack of a water network made irrigation very difficult.

Also, like many villages in the Akkar caza, Kouachra is very poor and lacks basic infrastructure requirements.

Map of road network

Map of desertification risk

Map of rivers and water springs