Shops and restaurants in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah witness a huge flow of pilgrims during Ramadan, marking the peak Umrah season.
Ramadan also provides a great opportunity for Saudi families struggling to meet ends. They cash in on the huge demand for homemade dishes during the fasting month. Many people prefer such delicious and tasty food to those bought from restaurants and eateries.
A large number of citizens lend a supporting hand to their wives by helping them prepare special Ramadan dishes and deliver them to customers. Their children also take part in this lucrative business.
A number of Saudis told Arab News about their successful home catering experiment. Abdul Rahman, 50, said this Ramadan business has been a real blessing for him.
“I am working for a government department and it is very difficult for me to support my family with my salary,” he said.
“Therefore, my wife and I thought about ways of boosting our income and leading a decent life without seeking financial support from others. We started preparing popular Ramadan dishes and started offering home delivery after receiving orders from families.”
Abdul Rahman started taking his leave during Ramadan in order to help his wife prepare the meals.
“There has been tremendous response from a large number of people for special dishes, including various pastries and pies as well as Bukhari rice and banana cakes,” he added.
“My son helps me in delivering these dishes as well as in selling them at major markets.”
He said that he managed to earn more than SR300 in profit a day.
Shakir Hussein is also a government employee whose salary is about SR2,500 a month.
“With the huge increase in our family expenses, my wife and I decided to turn to home catering,” he said.
“She prepares various special dishes, including pastries and sweets. I use a makeshift stall erected on the roadside to sell them in front of mosques and markets,” he said.
Hussein is also on leave during the whole month, which he says is a great opportunity to meet his expenses.
Salwa Khaled, who works for the administration department of a private hospital, told Arab News that her salary is insufficient to meet the expenses of her family, which includes an unemployed husband and five children.
She also opted to take her vacation time from the beginning of Ramadan in order to prepare meals that she could sell.
It means Salwa’s husband is not jobless for the fasting month of Ramadan as he, together with their children, are busy delivering the dishes.
Salwa is very happy with the additional income that she earns from the business, but refused to disclose how much she makes.
Umm Rafat, 70, says Ramadan brings her both money and an end to the monotony of her daily routine.
“My husband died and my sons moved out after they got married. I started preparing various dishes and delivering them to neighbors,” she said.
“There was a tremendous reaction from many neighboring women to my food. So I hired two women workers to help.”
She said the extra money helped build a house for her children.
