A grassroot environmental initiative
starting in Jdeidet-Ghazir, Keserwen
Who We Are
We are a grassroot environmental initiative consisting of 7 cousins that took it upon themselves to be environmentally conscious. Our projects take on proactive and reactive approaches. Since some of us live outside of Lebanon, we plan our projects throughout the year and meet during the summer months to execute them. We are working very hard on this initiative as we all have other things going on in our lives. Please take some time to meet the faces behind the team.
Our Mission Statement
(En) Green Vests is a grassroot initiative that focuses on the encouragement and development of a healthy, sustainable, and environmentally friendly community starting in the Jdeidet-Ghazir and Qattine area.(Fr) Green Vests est une initiative de base qui se concentre sur l'encouragement et le développement d'une communauté saine, durable et respectueuse de l'environnement à partir de la région de Jdeidet-Ghazir et Qattine.
Our Goals
(En) In order to fulfill our mission statement, we have adopted 6 of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).(Fr) Afin de accomplir notre énoncé de mission, nous avons adopté 6 des 17 Objectifs de Développement Durable des Nations Unies
Transparency
We believe in transparency and the power that it wields.In an effort to uphold this value and build trust among the community, we have made our governing and financial documents public. Furthermore, in addition to our Facebook and Instagram pages, we are providing a newsletter exclusively for donors and supporters to update them on their impact.
Governing Documents
Financial Documents
Meet the Team
Joe Seif
Executive Manager
Maroun Seif
Office and Media Manager
Sarah Seif
Finance Manager
Maria Nehme
Personnel Manager
Émile Nehme
Executive Deputy
Joanna Nehme
Project Manager
Yara Seif
Project Manager
Meet Joe
Co-Founder & Executive Manager
I hold a Master's in Public Administration from Binghamton University. Most of my education was done outside of Lebanon. After graduating, my focus has shifted to my hometown. I hope to use the education I gained to help build up and strengthen my community.
Meet Maroun
Office and Media Manager
I was born in Lebanon but reside in France. I just graduated high school and I'm currently attending an engineering school. Despite the distance, I still have deep connections with my native country that are inseverable. So my goal is to help and support the people in Lebanon, hoping that one day this beautiful country becomes splendid again.
Meet Émile
Co-Founder & Executive Deputy
I live in Jdeidet-Ghazir, Keserwen in Lebanon and I have a passion in environmentalism. I attend École Saint-Francois in Ghazir, where I'm building leadership and community skills. My hobbies are to go on nature hikes, to play football and arts.
Meet Sarah
Meet Joanna
Project Manager
I live in Jdeidet-Ghazir and help my parents around the house. Not only do I love nature, I also love children and aspire to become a pediatrician. My hobbies include music, playing piano and basketball.
Meet Maria
Meet Yara
Support our Mission and Goal
We dream of a greener and cleaner environment and with your support we aspire to go beyond the Jdeidet-Ghazir/Qattine area. There are a few ways you can help us make our dream come true. You can donate either online or in person, you can shop on our online eco-store, and you can sign up to volunteer.
Note:
- All monetary donations go directly to fund our projects, we do not have any operational costs.
- All products from the online store are eco-friendly and all profits funds our projects.
- Volunteering with us does count towards community service hours.
- Supporters can be added to our newsletter for updates on their support's impact
Volunteer Sign-up
Where's your green vest?
Fill out this form to join our volunteer list. We will get back to you with event details and how you would be able to volunteer.
Volunteering with us can count towards your community service hours requirements. Community Service Letters of Recognition can be emailed to you and/or your associated institute upon request.
Our Volunteers
Name
Name
Name
Name
Name
What We Do
Our Upcoming Projects
Plant-A-Tree 2.0
As we continue our efforts to enact our mission, we are continuing our Plant-A-Tree project that we launched in 2022. With a budget of $748, we have distributed and planted 60 fruit trees on individuals' private properties. The trees would help them support their families with future needs. We also provided 25 food parcels for families that had immediate needs.
Ambitiously, this initiative tackles deforestation and food insecurity in the midst of the economic collapse. Although the trees may not produce fruits immediately, they will start to become a sustainable source of food within a year and many more years to come.
Let's start planting for a better future, one tree at a time.
Municipality Clean-up 2.0
In response to our municipality clean-up project in the summer of 2021, we have noticed the lack of awareness people had on recycling and garbage disposal. Therefore, we plan on launching a village-wide campaign which would involve raising awareness on garbage disposal and recycling. We provided a recycling guide on our website and we will encourage locals and visitors to not litter by relaunching another village-wide clean-up campaign with a stronger door-to-door presence.
Please support our mission to create a healthier and more sustainable community, starting with the small villages of Jdeidet-Ghazir and Qattine in Mount-Lebanon.
Public Garden
The village lacks public space that is green and clean. There are a few areas, such as parking and paved lots and a basketball court, however they are impractical and insufficient. Building a public garden would encourage locals to engage more in outdoor activities in their own village, especailly during a time of crisis. We acknowledge that there is a lack of space in the village, however we hope that locals would donate unused/unwanted land for this cause.
As we continue our efforts to enact our mission, we have launched a new initiative this summer called Plant-A-Tree. For every $20 donated we will plant a fruit tree on a landowner's property. We will provide the landowner some fertilizer to nurture the tree and harvest it to help support their family. We will also provide a food parcel for each family to help address immediate needs.
Ambitiously, this initiative will tackle deforestation and food insecurity in the midst of the economic collapse. Although the trees may not produce fruits immediately, they will start to become a sustainable source of food within a year and many more years to come.
Let's start planting for a better future, one tree at a time.
Our Impact
Plant-A-Tree
In the summer of 2022, we have launched a new initiative called Plant-A-Tree. We were able to distribute and plant 60 fruit trees on individuals' private properties. The trees would help them support their families with future needs. We also provided 25 food parcels for families that had immediate needs.
Ambitiously, this initiative tackles deforestation and food insecurity in the midst of the economic collapse. Although the trees may not produce fruits immediately, they will start to become a sustainable source of food within a year and many more years to come.
Let's start planting for a better future, one tree at a time.
Municipality Street Clean-up
The collected garbage has been sorted and sent to be recycled. The goal is to create a healthier and more sustainable environment while also promoting eco-friendly practices and community building.
This project spanned for 4 days. The red zone was on Thursday 22 July. Yellow zone on Friday 23 July. Green zone on Monday 26 July, and Blue zone, Tuesday 27 July. All four days were from 3 pm until 7 pm in the evening.
In this project, we have worked with the local municipality and cleaned up the Jdeidet-Ghazir area. This includes picking up garbage from the main, internal and old roads. We were not able to clean up the village creek due to limited access and supplies.
Old Walkway/ Stairs Beautification
Jdeidet-Ghazir is a charming little village with potential. Throughout the village we cleaned-up, cleared-up and beautified select stairs by painting and adding color to encourage more locals to use them for basic travels and even recreational use. These walkways are located near churches and connect the village's residences to the supermarkets and shops on the main road.
In the span of one month with a tight budget, we have cleaned and beautified 3 strategically located stairs in Jdeidet-Ghazir and Qattine. Two in Jdeidet-Ghazir (Saint Michael and Saint Maroun Stairs) and one in Qattine (Saint Charbel Stairs).
Although this project doesn't directly pertain to our mission, we saw a void that we felt needed to be quickly filled. This project focused more on mental health by encouraging locals to walk and use the area's old walkways to help vent and cope through an uncontrollable economic and political crisis.
Stairs Maintenance / Clean-up
We were able to clean up the stairs that we painted last year. Although many of the colors have faded, we did not repaint. Our mission is to clean up the environment and encourage others to keep it clean and profit from it recreationally. We do plan on keeping them clean and accessible for walking.
Please support our mission to create a healthier and more sustainable community, starting with the small villages of Jdeidet-Ghazir and Qattine in Mount-Lebanon.
Our Recycling Guide
About Jdeidet-Ghazir and Qattine
Jdeidet-Ghazir and Qattine (part of the Jdaidet Ghazir - Harharaya - Qattine Municipality) are small villages located in a valley with a small creek running through it. They lies on the outskirts of Ghazir, a town overlooking the City of Jounieh and the Mediterranean sea. Historically, Jdeidet-Ghazir and Qattine have been known for their grain mills, which have produced grain products national and international levels. They are also known for the abundance of water, hence the name "ghazir".
Our Partners
