Fusool in her kitchen. Her most popular foods include: Kubbeh, Tabouleh, and rice with minced meat and peas. (Photo credit: Sara Rashdan/CARE)
We had to flee Syria and come to Jordan because fear overcame every other emotion.
My husband, who did odd jobs in Syria tried to work many times in Jordan, but he would either get caught working illegally, or business owners would cheat him out of his pay. This situation pushed him into a complete breakdown, and we had to seek medical help. He still has panic attacks on bad days; he runs out of breath and has to leave the house or open a window immediately. The doctor taught me how to deal with him when this happens; hold his head in a certain position and make him focus on his breathing.
When this happened, I decided to start my own business, in order to provide for my family, though I never worked before. I’ve known CARE since I came to Jordan. The organization offered my husband and me a lot of help. So when they told me one day that they are conducting a cooking course, I was ecstatic about the prospect of cooking at home and making money. The course was so much fun, I learnt a lot about owning a business, maintaining it, expanding, marketing and much more. Not to mention the cooking of course!
I received a grant of 1,100 Jordanian Dinars (1,500 USD) to buy kitchenware to help me make Kubbeh (meat and bulgur balls filled with minced meat), and pastries. I also bought a deep fryer, a blender, a small refrigerator and pots and pans. Ever since, I cook for a growing customer base which is being built on word of mouth and through contacts. As the sole breadwinner of this family I can now pay rent, feed my family, and make sure my children don’t need anything.
My best seller dishes are the Kubbeh, tabbouleh and roast chicken. My customers are mostly Jordanians, because they all know that Syrian food is really tasty. I cook for the church nearby as well when they have events, and this is where I make the most profit. My business has made a big difference in our lives: the constant worry of not having enough money for my children’s expenses is now gone. My next step is to print brochures and send them with my kids to school so that the teachers and students could also spread the word.
Fusool took the course in August 2017, and was one of 12 participants. The idea of the training was to dissect and point out the most important components of a successful micro business
Main topic addressed were:
- business modelling through outlining the most fundamental aspects of their business
- identification of the product or service that makes the business unique
- customer segmentation
- competition and introduced SWOT analysis
- fundamental difference between pricing for a project and pricing for themselves
- marketing
- production and manufacturing
All these comprehensive topics assisted the refugees to understand how to manage a micro business and utilize the small amount of the granted money for sustainability to serve their economic conditions.
Read more about our work in Jordan.