Story of Nabat from the founder

The answers to these questions have a lot to do with who I am and where I’m from.

I’m Iranian, born and raised in Iran with my family until I moved to the Turtle Island* in my early 20’s.

Nabat- or نبات in Farsi- is a form of crystallized sugar made by leaving a string or a thin piece of wooden stick in sugar syrup. Nabat is widely used in the SWANA** region and Indian subcontinent. It’s called سکر نبات in Arabic, मिश्री in Hindi, and akide şekeri in Turkish.

You can find nabat in almost every Iranian household. For most Iranians, nabat is comforting and medicinal. When you have eaten too much or you’re feeling low energy, it is common for someone at your home offer to make you a chai nabat, or nabat dissolved in hot black tea.

Nabat represents attentiveness, warmth and healing for me. Offering nabat to your family or a guest who is visiting your home is a caring and loving gesture.

And this is what I thought of when I was planning and designing the clinic; a place where all of you is welcome and cared for.

Welcome to Nabat, we’re happy you’re here.

*Turtle Island is a term used by many Indigenous peoples to refer to the land known as Americas, and in my case, Canada. For more information, visit here.

*South West Asia & North Africa. A phrase used to refer to what is colonially known as the middle east, which positions Europe as central. For more information, visit here.