Celebrating Palestinian Culture With Lulu’s Crackers: A Q+A
About Lubna:
Lubna Abura is a Palestinian-Brazilian entrepreneur, single mother to twins, and a twice cancer survivor, who grew up in New York. Lubna sat down with Dana Eats where we learned more about her gourmet cracker business, Lulu’s Crackers. We also discussed the connection she has with her Palestinian identity and the different ways she is helping to keep the culture alive.
Dana: Can you please tell me about your business and what inspired you to create Lubna’s Crackers.
What inspired my creation and to begin this beautiful journey are my twins. When I was going through postpartum depression and a divorce, I used to go for long walks. By the time I would reach the playground, the kids would be hungry so I used to make them zaatar sandwiches. As you know zaatar sandwiches- it's delicious but is also messy, because you have the zeyt, the olive oil, that is just dripping. Other snacks that I used to bring them were the goldfish and they used to love it I guess because it's salty and crunchy. As a new mom I start reading the ingredients. I was like “uh-oh I don’t know if I like what I'm reading”. It just happened like magic. One day I was at the supermarket and I saw this recipe for crackers, and then I started playing with it. I was like what if I put zaatar in it? What if I put this in it? It really was just therapy for me. So initially it was just more for finding a purpose to go through the storm of postpartum and all the depression and mental health. About two years into it, it has metamorphosed into more of a serious representation of who we are. Who else is better to represent our culture than ourselves?
Dana: Exactly I love that. Zaatar is a very strong and unique flavor so how were you able to bring it to the Western market and convince people who were unfamiliar with it?
To bring it to the Western market is a little bit of a challenge. Like right now my clientele mainly is Arabs, but I feel that nothing is hidden under the sun anymore because of the internet and people becoming more aware and more experimental. zaatar is such a flexible condiment or pantry staple that you can incorporate in different foods. There is not one Palestinian household that I know of that doesn’t have zaatar. It's what I like to compare to feijao, like black beans in a latino household.
Dana: While you were creating this business what were some of the obstacles you had to overcome being a Palestinian- Brazilian woman?
One of the obstacles is making people believe in it and buy it. I understood from the get-go that it is sometimes hard for the Arab community to accept changes, but once they do, and they believe what you are doing is great, they will support you fully. I feel like my generation, which is the first generation of immigrant parents that felt the first Nakba, the 1948 exile, and the 1967 exile, we took in all our parents and our grandparents' pain. Are we always gonna talk about war? Are we always gonna talk about how sad we are? No, let's celebrate, let’s put out something vibrant, let’s put out the beauty of Falastin which is our cuisine.
Dana: How do you feel like you are being able to preserve this culture and introduce it to your children through your product?
The way I introduce the culture to my kids is through zaatar really. You can’t go anywhere if you're not having zaatar. It's telling them stories they will never forget. Like our grandmothers used to tell us; they used to make sure we ate zaatar right before an exam because zaatar would make us “smarter”. We Palestinians, we’re very creative. Like we flourished in Latin America, we flourish here, we flourish anywhere. I think sometimes limitations can be detrimental to a person, but they can also make you think outside of the box.
Dana: What are some life experiences that you have had that have helped your business become a success?
I feel that when I do conventions for example, a lot of people come and they have read my story.I am a twice breast cancer survivor and a single mom. I check all the underdog checkboxes. Single mom? Check. Cancer survivor? Check. Minority woman? Check. Latino woman? Check. Muslima woman? Check. Small business? Check. I feel like they come and it inspires them to say “oh like how do you do it?” That inspires me to keep pushing. They come and say “you know you have such a good message, I like what you stand for. How did you overcome this?” I wouldn’t be able to do this if it wasn’t for God. I found God.
Dana: How has opening this Lulu’s Gourmet Crackers made you feel closer to your Palestinian identity or kind of shaped the way you present yourself?
Having Lulu’s Crackers has helped me find a voice. Representation is everything nowadays. I didn’t grow up having a role model. Leila Khaled, she’s our role model but nobody really talked about her. So how can you transfer that image into food? I think it all came together more and more when I finally had a logo. It took me years and many, many trials with different people, and then I met this wonderful artist out in London. She made this beautiful logo with me in a Thoub, like it's the alter ego. I feel like that image helped put a face to what I'm trying to do. There is a banner that I'm carrying that nobody told me to carry, but I felt like I needed to carry it. So yes I am, I feel like not me personally, but the company should be a representation of the beauty that we have to offer. We’re not always suffering people and despite that we are suffering, tell me when did you see a Palestinian household not cooking? There is no way we’re not cooking. How did our dishes get passed on even in the diaspora if it’s not through the kitchen movements? We become the ambassadors of our culture but always in a beautiful light because Palestinian culture is beautiful. It should never be forgotten. I feel like with Lulu’s Crackers I want to present happiness, I want to present culture, history, my mom’s food, your mom’s food, my grandmother’s food, your grandmother’s food, and share it with everybody. Because that is what we do, we feed.
Dana: What do you think as a society we can do better to help support immigrants who are starting businesses in the city?
I feel like what we can do better to help immigrants, especially in the city, is give them a chance. I'm a New Yorker, I've been here for thirty years- most of my lifetime, and this is the city of opportunity. They only say, “if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere else”. In the beginning it might be a lack of cash or capital, but you have got to believe in yourself because nobody else will.
Dana: That’s so true. What advice would you have for someone who wants to start a business?
To start a business, first of all you have a good idea but make sure you have done your research and just go for it. I don't know; my perspective is a little bit different because I've seen death twice now. I feel like when you have cancer, when you have a big disease or illness that shifts your perspective in life you realize that we’re here for a short period of time. Nobody is perfect, there is no right or wrong, just do you even if you fail it. Who said that by this age you should have something successful? How are you gonna have something successful if none of our parents came from good old money? It takes years to develop a business. Some people start off with a capital of one million, some of us start off with a hundred, but we shouldn't give up. Just keep on going.