Etymology

It is rumored that the name ‘kashlak’ is derived from the Turkish word ‘Al-Kashla’, meaning a place housing military personnel, similar to barracks. The village was probably given its name for having hosted Turkish troops in the past.

Location

Kashlak is located in the Qada’a of Akkar at an altitude of 200m above the sea level. It is 130 km from Beirut and 40 km from Tripoli. It stretches across 225 hectares and can be reached through the following route: Beirut- Tripoli- Halba- Amar El-Biket- Kashlak. The village lies on the border between Akkar and Syria.

Population

The number of registered inhabitants in the village’s personal status register is estimated at 900 people, all belonging to the Sunni sect and distributed over 120 houses.

Voters

The number of registered voters in Kashlak is 630 voters distributed among the following families:

• Sakr: 150
• Youssef: 90
• Diab: 10
• Harba: 30
• Amouri: 10
• Zaidan: 6
• Al-Asaad: 25
• Knouj: 30
• Jounaid: 35
• Qassem: 15
• Al-Ali: 30
• Al-Mell: 50
• Suleiman: 20
• Mohammad: 25
• Al-Hdam: 60
• Ayyash: 8
• Hamdan: 20

Local Authorities

The village has one Mukhtar, S’oud Sakr, and an Ikhtiyariah body of 3 members. There is not a municipal council in Kashlak.

Educational Institutions

There is one public elementary school in Kashlak. It had 5 teachers and 35 students, both boys and girls, in the scholarly year 2011-2012.

NGOs

Kashlak is home to 2 agricultural cooperatives:

• Kashlak’s Beekeeping and Honey-making Co-op
• Kahlak’s Co-op for Rural Development

Economic Activities

Most of Kashlak’s inhabitants earn their living through agriculture. They grow tobacco and almonds and keep cows and other cattle and bees. Some work in the poultry farms of the village and others are enrolled in the Lebanese Army. These modest occupations fail to provide high income to the population and leaves Kashlak wallowing in poverty and devoid of the basic needs like health, education and infrastructure services.

Problems

The waste dump of the neighboring town of Srar encroaches on Kashlak’s land and causes a great deal of pollution to the air, water and soil of the village. Consequently, inhabitants suffer from critical shortage of potable water, as pollution makes the water of the Grand River that passes through the village undrinkable.

Scarce revenues and services and serious pollution problems made Kashlak one of the poorest villages in Lebanon.