Saida Culinary Hub
The Hariri Foundation Community Kitchen is a social and recreational center committed to empowering and engaging locals, particularly women, of Saida in the culinary and touristic sectors through capacity building on homemade agro-food cooking skills and marketing of traditional products. The community kitchen is located in a historic 3-floor building at the waterfront of Saida’s historic district. The restaurant is special for its hospitable environment and exquisite spaces with a panoramic view overlooking the city’s fishermen port. Hariri Foundation for Sustainable Human Development established the kitchen in 2016, in a joint project supported by with the Ministry of Social Affairs and funded by the Royal Norwegian Embassy and UNDP. Ever since, and up until the COVID pandemic, the center hosted Tawlet Saida, Souk El Tayeb’s farmers’ kitchen in Saida.
Address
Bahr El Eid Rafic El Hariri Boulevard, Historic District, Saida, Lebanon
Empowering Skills, Reviving Tourism
Throughout the community kitchen, tens of participants have been staffed and received tailored training and capacity building on traditional food processing, sales and marketing management, branding, pricing, and other relevant topics. The center strives to enhance the competitiveness of the tourism sector by reviving nearby relevant businesses and heritage sites. The community kitchen relies on the nearby fishery as well as other local food and handicraft markets in its own food production and space furnishing and accessories. The restaurant collaborates with national and local tourism agencies to host tourist groups and conduct guided tours across Saida and its historic district. Alongside its food and tourism services, the center also provides the space for civic engagement workshops and meetings for local stakeholders and networks.