Houssein

Houssein is a 48-year-old man who lives in Tyre, in southern Lebanon with his wife and their three children. Houssein owns a bakery. He does “saj,” “mankoucheh,” and “knefeh." The “saj” is the metal oven where you do the saj bread and the saj bread is a traditional Lebanese cooking dome used to make Markouk (thinned) bread and doughy confections or mankoucheh. A mankoucheh looks like a folded pizza with the most common toppings being zaatar (thyme), jebneh (cheese) and lahm bi ajin (minced meat). You can eat it anytime of the day, but somehow it tastes better in the morning. Knefeh is a traditional breakfast Lebanese sweet; it is a special kind of braided cheese that is served with liquid sugar in rounded bread. It is also served as a dessert, but somehow it tastes better in the morning also. In America and in Europe, knefeh is known as a gourmet dish that will surpass in popularity the cheesecake and the pancake. Houssein requested a loan of $1000 USD from Al Majmoua in order to purchase a refrigerator for his sweets and the sodas and to purchase additional raw materials. This is the first time that Houssein has requested a loan.

Houssein is known for his good mankoucheh and his knefeh. His clients can be anybody from his region. Houssein worked in a restaurant before he opened his bakery, but he left the restaurant because he wasn’t earning enough and needed to increase his income. That is why he decided to start his own business. In the future, he plans on expanding and improving his business.

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