Photo by: Conrad Lau

At some hundreds of meters, the Salamehs also work as a family. But in their offices, everything is quiet and silent. On one of the tables, a graphic designer is thinking of a cover illustration. His eyes are fixed on the PC. Later on, he will be working on the internal pages. Therefore, in all, he would spend many weeks on the design, which is the first step of the book conception.

This phase is fundamental for it determines all the next steps of the procedure. Filters and plates that will be used for the printing process come from his drawings. This step requires creativity, imagination and non consideration of time, because competition is very hard. It comes from Beirut, from Arab countries and from Daraoun itself, where, facing craftsmen stands “Bassile Frères” company.

Located in the village’s main street, the company employs 110 workers. Its building is made of 5 floors and it proposes 700 different products. “Originally, in 1952, it was a simple binding room”, explains the staff responsible. “With time, we enlarged our company and our equipment until we became the biggest printing firm in the country. We are stationery specialists”. Inside the firm, the workers, essentially from the village, are actively working on enormous machines imported from Europe.

All the bookmaking process is incorporated. A child’s copybook is thought, drew, printed, cut, bonded, covered, and laminated. However, despite its size and its ultra sophisticated material, the firm must also confront an increasing competition. In order to maintain its shares on the Lebanese market and in other countries of the region, the firm must always improve its performance.

Despite everything, Daraoun’s printing machines remain competitive and offer great prospects for young people in the village, for they are not obliged to leave the village in order to find a job. 5000 people live in this village per year. “I love living here because we are in the heart of nature, far from pollution,” says Viviane, owner of a flower shop, “At the same time, we can go to Beirut in 30 minutes and in less than fifteen minutes, we can reach the beach.”

The population benefits from many facilities like: schools, doctors, grocery stores, shops, coffee shops, and restaurants. At the same time, they can enjoy an exceptional panorama over Jounieh bay and they can also profit from the numerous gardens filled with trees that surround the houses and bring back memories from this village’s agricultural past.