Cham Saar: The first Syrian-German cheese manufacturer

Abstract

The case study interviews were captured on November 7 and 14 2017, respectively, at the farm Georgshof in Uchtelfangen, Germany. This is where the raw material for the Syrian cheese is being produced. Six of the most important people involved in the founding of Cham Saar GmbH were interviewed for 57 and 75 minutes. This includes Abdul Saymoa (25), a refugee from Northwestern Syria, Matthias and Christel Riehm, the senior farmers who have supported the business idea from its inception, as well as Anna Riehm (31) and Matthias Riehm Jr (32), the co-founders of Cham Saar GmbH. The case study further benefited from an expert interview with a start-up consultant from the migrant business accelerator who assisted the founders of Cham Saar GmbH at its early developmental stage. In addition, desktop research, mainly from public media coverage, the Cham Saar webpage and the founder's social media outlets, was considered as secondary data. Interviews were conducted in German, audiotaped and thereafter transcribed. The excerpts cited from the interviews were translated into English by the authors.