There are different things that connect refugees to the land once they lived in. To some, it is the photos they carried from the drawers of their broken homes, to others an item of clothing that they saved from the rebels. But to Ruba, it’s the food she once picked off of the trees in her family’s farm in Damascus.
When Ruba left Syria, she was only nine years old. The memories she carried from home are limited but rich. The one thing she remembers well is the farm her family once harvested. She remembered picking olives from the trees and different fruit each in their season.
Her relationship with food kept her close to the place she once lived in. Now Ruba has been living in Istanbul for six+ years, and even though she’s forgetting some of the Arabic words she knew, food will always be part of her.
Ruba’s dream is to open her own restaurant with branches both in Syria and in Turkey. Ruba wants to marry western food with eastern, and come up with new recipes and innovative flavors.
Throughout her journey at Karam House, she used her time to develop the skills that she already had. She took all the opportunities she could get and registered for all the food-related studios. Her favorite was “Kitchens Without Borders.”
This past September, among 41 students, Ruba was one of the Karam House graduates. And earlier this semester, she started her own home-bakery, named Specifics. The name comes from her attention and love for details. At her home bakery, Ruba makes all kinds of baked goods such as cakes, cookies, chocolate covered strawberries, and for all occasions.
And for the 2021 Graduation, Karam House worked with Ruba to make cookies in celebration of her and her friends’ achievements. We offered her the space, and printed out the labels to complete the order.
