Malula CIC is a UK Community Interest Company working to create sustainable employment, support locally rooted enterprise and help preserve the living heritage of Malula for future generations.
Our belief is simple: heritage survives when the people who carry it have the opportunity to build their future around it.
My name is Manal Shalhoub.
Although I live in Britain today, my family's roots are in the ancient mountain town of Malula, where generations of women have preserved traditional food-making skills passed from mother to daughter for centuries.
Growing up, I watched my mother, my aunts and the women of Malula prepare natural dairy products, preserve seasonal foods and share recipes that became part of our family's identity. These traditions were more than recipes — they were expressions of love, resilience and community.
Yet I also saw something else: extraordinary knowledge and ability that too often created little economic opportunity for the women who possessed it.
I founded Malula CIC because I believed these traditions deserved a future — and the people preserving them deserved the opportunity to build one.
We decided not to wait.
We invested, found a home for the project, built a team and began production in Malula. What started as an idea is now becoming a working social enterprise creating real opportunity while preserving the knowledge that inspired it.
This is only the beginning.
Our mission is simple: to help create a future in Malula where heritage and opportunity can grow together.
Malula possesses extraordinary cultural traditions, skills and knowledge. We believe protecting that heritage means more than preserving the past — it means creating the economic opportunities that allow people and communities to build their futures.
Through sustainable enterprise, local employment, traditional production, renewable energy and future partnerships, we are developing a model where investment in people strengthens the community around them.
What began with traditional food production is becoming something much larger.
We are not simply preserving Malula's heritage.
Impact begins when ideas become action.
What started as a vision is now creating tangible activity in Malula — employment, production, local enterprise and investment in a more sustainable future.
👩 Creating Local Employment
Our team in Malula is now working and producing, turning traditional knowledge and skills into meaningful economic opportunity.
🥣 Preserving Skills Through Enterprise
Through ZODA, traditional food-making knowledge is not simply being remembered — it is being used, valued and developed into a sustainable local enterprise.
🌱 Investing in Sustainability
We have invested in renewable energy and infrastructure to help build a more resilient foundation for production and future growth.
🏡 Supporting the Local Economy
Through ZODA and Hawa Malula, we are creating activity that supports employment, encourages visitors to spend locally and demonstrates what small-scale enterprise can achieve.
❤️ Building for the Next Generation
Our ambition extends beyond the businesses operating today. The Malula Vision is about creating reasons for people to see opportunity, possibility and a future in Malula.
Heritage survives when people can build their future around it.
The Malula Vision is no longer simply a vision. It is happening.
✔ Malula CIC officially registered as a UK Community Interest Company.
✔ Experienced Production Lead appointed to oversee operations in Malula.
✔ 500m² production facility secured in the centre of Malula under a five-year lease.
✔ Founding production team recruited, creating employment within the local community.
✔ Production equipment installed and the facility prepared for operation.
✔ Renewable energy investment made, supporting our commitment to more resilient and sustainable production.
✔ Production officially commenced in mid-July 2026.
✔ ZODA launched, bringing traditionally produced Malula foods to customers under a dedicated local brand.
✔ Hawa Malula opened, creating an additional local enterprise and a place for visitors and the community to experience Malula.
What began as a plan is now a working reality — built almost entirely through our own investment, with approximately £800 received in external support to date.
We have shown what can be achieved by starting with what we have. Now we want to build on that foundation.
Apart from approximately £800 received in external support, everything achieved so far has been funded through our own investment.
We did not wait for major grants or institutional backing. We began — creating employment, investing in infrastructure, starting production and building enterprises in Malula.
But this is only the beginning.
Every contribution, partnership, introduction and act of support can help us create more employment, strengthen local enterprise and take the Malula Vision further.
If you believe heritage deserves not only to be remembered, but to have a future, we invite you to become part of what comes next.
We don't preserve traditions by remembering them. We preserve them by creating a future for the people who keep them alive.
Malula CIC
Community Interest Company
Company Registration No. 17301243
Brentwood, Essex, United Kingdom
📧 info@malula.org
© 2026 Malula CIC