Running a once famed industry

ENAR

Lebanon’s furniture making tradition dates back thousands of years—thanks, in large part, to the cedar tree, the country’s national symbol. Historical records and religious texts often reference the high quality of Lebanese cedar wood, and its renown across the region as an important building resource and a material for luxury furniture. More recently, furniture making has been an important sub-sector of the country’s economy and a driver of small business entrepreneurship, but stakeholders say this once storied industry has witnessed a decline in recent years. Lebanon has been in an economic rut for more than seven years, with GDP annual growth rates consistently in the very low single digits, coinciding with turmoil across the Middle East and a refugee crisis stemming from the civil war in neighboring Syria. Meanwhile, this period has also seen rising unemployment and poverty rates for both Lebanese nationals and refugees, as Executive previously reported. In