Hand in Hand: Sisters Chloé and Tiana Khuri are getting creative to support Lebanon
Love, hope, strength, Lebanon—these are just a few of the inspirational words seen on the beaded bracelets handmade by Chloé and Tiana Khuri at the start of their philanthropic initiative, the Cedar Strong Project. The sisters were only 17 and 13 at the time, but their craft jewelry business was much more than a creative after-school activity.
In August 2020, an explosion at the Port of Beirut in Lebanon sent the country into disarray, causing mass destruction and an economic crisis. As the Baton Rouge-born Lebanese sisters were seeing this tragedy unfold, with family still living in Lebanon, they decided to do something to assist the country and its people.
“We felt detached from our community and just wanted to make sure everything was OK,” Chloé says. “Our parents always watch Arabic news on TV, and seeing the state of the country and the impact it was having, we wanted to do all we could to help,” Tiana adds.
The sisters began the Cedar Strong Project in 2021, making and selling beaded bracelets for just $1 each. They spread the word about their grassroots efforts through social media, using Instagram to highlight the jewelry pieces and including a Lebanese fun fact in each caption. As they gradually gained more traction online, donations from the Baton Rouge community began coming in.
“We gave the money made from bracelet sales and raised through donations to our aunt living in Lebanon, which she used to purchase groceries for people impacted by the financial crisis,” Chloé explains. “One specific memory I always go back to is when my aunt sent us pictures of all the food we were able to buy people so that we were able to see all the good that we were doing.”
As the country was finally beginning to heal, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 2024 sent shockwaves around the world and plunged many in the country back into difficult financial situations, motivating the girls to expand their efforts. “We knew we wanted to help on a larger scale,” Chloé says of their decision to sell T-shirts, sweatshirts and tote bags, each featuring a symbolic Lebanese design hand-drawn by the Khuri sisters.
For the new line of products, the sisters harnessed their creative capabilities and made their own designs, with Tiana using gouache paint and paper for her medium, which would be scanned into a digital print for merchandise application, and Chloé taking the digital route by using the app Procreate on her iPad to draw her piece.
Both Tiana and Chloé’s designs are filled with symbolic imagery central to the culture in Lebanon. “The focal point of my design is two hands holding up a cedar tree, with a rosary hanging from the wrist of one hand, and a tattoo that says Allah in Arabic on the wrist of the other hand,” Chloé says. “It represents how Lebanon’s Christian and Muslim people are coming together in this time of need.”
Tiana drew from a fond memory of family for her design. “One summer when I was little, while we were visiting family in Lebanon, we went to the ancient city of Baalbek, and I remember thinking how beautiful the temple was,” she says. Now, that temple is at the center of her design, symbolizing the resilience of the ancient city. Also depicted in Tiana’s work is Our Lady of Lebanon, representing the Christian religion, and an evil eye, representing the Islamic faith.
“Despite the variety of religions and cultures in Lebanon, the people will unify and come together in the face of adversity,” Tiana says. “When we finished the first batch of clothes, and we were taking those first product photos and packing them up, it was so exciting to see what we were doing and that there are endless possibilities with the things we can do to help.”
The money raised from the Cedar Project’s merchandise sales is donated directly to the Lebanese Red Cross. With support from the sisters’ high school, St. Joseph’s Academy, and the rest of the Baton Rouge community, the sisters continue to spread awareness and raise money for Lebanon.
“We’ve gotten great feedback from the people in our community,” Tiana says. “It’s been incredible having this project grow up with us, and I’m so proud of where it’s come so far.”
Learn more about the initiative on Instagram @cedarstrongproject.
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