"Jabal Mussa Food Workshop" kicks off to encourage production of traditional food in Juret Tormos

The Association for the Protection of Jabal Mussa (APJM) inaugurated yesterday its workshop in the town of Jouret Tormos in the presence of UNESCO- Man and the Biosphere program representative, Zina Iskandarani, and UNESCO representatives George Tohmeh and Ghassan Jradi, as well as members of local municipal boards and mayors and women producers from the area. The newly-created venue which is funded by the Drosos Foundation of Switzerland comprises a central kitchen for processing rural and traditional mooneh, a seed laboratory supported by BLC bank, in addition to a conference and training hall. During the opening ceremony, the APJM president Pierre Dumet revealed that around 14 thousand persons have visited Jabal Mussa in 2015, which as he said, is a great incentive for the inhabitants and the guesthouses that are happy to receive them and provide them with an assortment of mooneh and artisan items produced at the workshop. For her part, Iskandarani said she hoped “Lebanon will take the lead in the Arab network for the Man and the Biosphere Programme, especially given the serious endeavor as acknowledged by the UN organization and the emulation of this effort in other Arab countries with the contribution of the Lebanese expertise.” Tohmeh, on the other hand, stressed the role of the association and the supportive efforts of the local community, notably women and the youth. (Al Mustaqbal, Sept 6, 2016)