Hello, and welcome to our village.
My name is Maan.

I’m Maan, and I was born and raised in Kfarhim, a small village in the mountains of Lebanon, and in Beirut, the capital. I left Lebanon at 21, and that distance taught me what sits at the heart of Lebanese culture: hospitality, generosity, and family.

I spent more than a decade working for large corporations and startups in Dubai and the United States. Eventually I felt called to simplify and share my culture through food. That calling became Habibi Village, bringing authentic Lebanese flatbreads and catering to Western North Carolina.

Through the Saj bread, we share stories and sustenance to bridge lands and people.

A person wearing black gloves is chipping a smooth stone on a wooden surface with some white powder scattered around.
A woman with long, wavy hair smiling and holding a half-eaten burrito in her hand, sitting outdoors at a gathering.

Our Story: Handmade Lebanese Saj Bread in Appalachia

Bringing Lebanese saj bread and man’oushe (منقوشة) to the United States has long been a dream of mine: a way to preserve ancestral recipes while creating something of my own, rooted in the heritage I come from.

I have always seen bread-making as a meditation, a living prayer where all the elements of life come together to nourish body and spirit. When made with intention, bread carries care, memory, and connection.

After moving to the Appalachian Mountains, I developed our saj bread recipe, drawing on ancestral Lebanese practices, my own intuition and research, and feedback from our community. The result is a simple, gluten-free, deeply nourishing flatbread, made to honor tradition while welcoming modern dietary needs.

For me, making bread is an act of service. It fuels community. Our saj bread is my offering: made with intention, rooted in heritage, and shared as a bridge between cultures and people.

This journey was made possible by the incredible Appalachian community that supported and believed in this work. It truly takes a village, and that is the spirit behind Habibi Village.

This is the beginning of our adventure. Thank you for reading my story. We look forward to connecting and breaking bread with you.

MEET SOME OF OUR FAMILY

A smiling man with dark hair, wearing a baseball cap backwards and a patterned shirt, leaning on his hand inside a food truck or small store.

Maan

Founder and Fearless Leader

A person with long dreadlocks, a bandana, glasses, and black gloves is cooking on a large griddle, shaving a food item called 'roti' from a flatbread with a metal scraper, while holding a container of cooked filling.

Bodhi

Baker (Sajmati)

A young man with red hair, glasses, and a black cap, wearing a black shirt and apron, is preparing dough at an outdoor food stand. He is using a rolling pin on a piece of dough, with other people visible in the background, some using their phones, at what appears to be a festival or outdoor event.

Nick

Baker