How it Began
How It Began
SPOT for Social Change began in August 2020, amid Lebanon's accelerating economic collapse, the aftermath of the Beirut Blast, and COVID-19 disruptions. The founders launched Green Bean, a community-based social enterprise in Zahle, Bekaa, not as charity but as a test of a conviction: that communities facing crisis possess the knowledge and capability to lead their own recovery when given practical support and genuine partnership.
Green Bean was designed with three integrated objectives: stimulate the local economy by providing income generation opportunities to women and youth; support small-scale farmers by purchasing directly and eliminating exploitative middlemen; and offer affordable, quality produce to families facing economic hardship. The initiative operated on personal investment from the founders and community contributions.
The Green Bean Model
Green Bean operated as a community shop in Zahle, selling produce at competitive prices while advancing social objectives that distinguished it from conventional retail.
The shop purchased produce directly from approximately 15 local small-scale farmers, paying fair prices and providing a reliable market channel. This direct relationship supported farmer livelihoods while ensuring produce quality and freshness.
Green Bean also served as a point of sale for women producers, enabling them to market traditional Lebanese preserved foods (mouneh) without the barriers of establishing independent retail presence. Eleven women producers gained market access through this arrangement, creating income opportunities for home-based producers who otherwise lacked channels to reach customers.
The community shop employed four full-time staff, paid from sales revenues. Additionally, Green Bean provided cash-for-work opportunities to 42 women and youth through community-based activities including the community kitchen, produce sorting, and distribution support. Participants received daily wage payments, providing immediate income while building practical skills.
The Community Kitchen
A defining feature of Green Bean was the community kitchen, established to ensure vulnerable community members, particularly elderly residents living alone, had access to daily, warm, nutritious meals during the crisis. For six months, 53 elderly individuals received daily hot meals. The kitchen operated with support from cash-for-work participants and volunteers, combining social support with skills development.
Our Reach
Over five years of operation, SPOT reached 4,070 unique beneficiaries through Green Bean and direct humanitarian support.
During the Green Bean period (2020-2022), SPOT provided humanitarian and social assistance to 1,935 individuals through cash-for-food assistance enabling families to purchase essential items at subsidized rates, food kits distributed to households facing acute food insecurity, cash-for-health support covering urgent medical needs, and cash-for-work opportunities through the community kitchen, sorting, recycling, and distribution activities. The approach prioritized families who had experienced sudden socioeconomic shocks, subsidizing costs to compensate for income loss and reduce reliance on negative coping mechanisms such as asset sales, borrowing, and debt accumulation.
In late 2022, as Lebanon's economic conditions continued to deteriorate and the operational environment shifted, SPOT transitioned from the social enterprise model to focus on direct humanitarian response and institutional development. This transition allowed SPOT to deepen its reach to the most vulnerable while building the organizational infrastructure needed for the next phase of growth.
Between 2022 and 2025, SPOT continued direct humanitarian support, reaching an additional 2,135 individuals through interventions responding to urgent and unmet needs. These included cash contributions covering critical health-related costs such as life-saving operations, cancer treatments, and essential medications for chronic illnesses; food kits distributed to families facing prolonged hardship; and emergency cash assistance to households experiencing sudden crises.
SPOT's team coordinated these interventions through community referrals, volunteers, and informal support networks developed during the Green Bean period. This enabled the team to identify cases with limited or no access to formal assistance channels and prioritize vulnerable women and elderly. Throughout, SPOT ensured timeliness, discretion, and the dignity of individuals reached.
What We Learned
The integration of economic and social objectives within a single initiative created multiple benefits: income for farmers, employment for staff, market access for women producers, affordable food for families, and a platform for humanitarian distribution. This integrated model proved more sustainable and dignified than purely charitable approaches.
Community trust, built through consistent presence and responsive support, became SPOT's primary asset. Referral networks developed organically as community members recognized the organization's reliability and discretion.
The cash-for-work modality provided income while preserving dignity and building skills, proving more effective than unconditional transfers for participants seeking to contribute meaningfully.
What We Carry Forward
The founding period established SPOT's identity as a community-rooted organization that combines practical service delivery with systemic thinking about poverty, inclusion, and agency. The relationships, credibility, and operational learning from 2020-2025 provide the foundation for SPOT's next phase of growth.
SPOT is now investing in the institutional infrastructure, policies, systems, and staffing needed to expand impact while maintaining the community accountability that defines who we are.
Voices from the Community
"Before Green Bean, I had the skill but nowhere to start. Being a single mother, every day was a worry. They didn't just let me use a kitchen; they gave me a business space. Now I produce my Lebanese mouneh and sell it myself. SPOT helped me turn what I learned from my mother into my livelihood." - Hoda, mouneh producer, Zahle
"Last summer, the apricots were ripe and I was fighting cancer. Too weak to do anything. My entire year's income was hanging on those branches. I was ready to lose everything. SPOT sent the Green Bean team to harvest, took the crop to market, and brought me every penny. They saved my harvest, yes. But more than that, they gave me one less fight when I had no strength left." - Joseph, farmer, Bekaa
"Cooking was always what I did best, but only at home, only for family. Green Bean hired me to take fresh produce and turn it into daily meals for the neighborhood. I cook what I love, people buy it at a fair price, and I bring home a stable income. They saw my skill and trusted me with it. That trust changed everything." - Hanadi, cook, Zahle
"These are difficult times. Everything feels unstable. But SPOT does the work that reminds us we aren't forgotten. Connecting someone to an opportunity, helping a family through a health crisis, just being there. They provide practical help, but what matters most is the hope. The belief that things can get better. They are true friends to this neighborhood." - Aida, community member, Zahle
