In a world inundated with products from China it can be hard to find authentically original items. Even if you believe you found something genuine you are usually disappointed after finding a ‘made in China’ sticker attached underneath.
My initial goal was to search for authentic Egyptian products but in the end I found a lot more than I expected.
My search began and ended at one of Cairo’s fair trade stores. As I browsed the selection, a stack of colorful rugs in the corner popped out at me. Upon further inspection, I noticed an attached piece of coarse paper describing their origin. It explained how women in Cairo’s garbage city create these rugs as part of one of the largest recycling program in the country.
I purchased one of the rugs but as I was doing so I wondered what kind of effort went into making such a product. Instantly images of factories and women working long hours in drab conditions materialized in my head. But this would not be the case as I visited their workshop.
Located in the heart of garbage city (zabaleen in Arabic) amidst dirty and crowded neighborhoods, the production center is in a garden surrounded by large walls.
Aida Ayed, the supervisor of rugs and bags, greeted me at the gate. She ushered me to the first room filled with the sounds of colliding wood. Two women stood behind looms weaving rugs and handbags with excess material donated by local textile factories.
With over 250 workers, the organization can produce 200 bags and 50 carpets a week and there isn’t a lack of demand. On my visit alone they were preparing a shipment of 4,350 bags and 3,150 purses to the United States. With such high demand, the money made is changing the local community.
One of the women on the looms, Gihan, explained to me that in the three months she has worked her life has completely transformed. “Before we would only stay home but now we go on trips, meet new people and learn stuff, she said enthusiastically.
Gihan’s story is similar to that of the other women working on this project. In addition to receiving a monthly income of LE 150 plus, the women are educated in math, reading and health care. They also take pleasure excursions to Alexandria, whereas before they might have never left Cairo.
But these women aren’t the only ones benefiting from the increase in income. Before the project began in 1984, there was only one school in the neighborhood.
With the help of local charities, the government and the company’s profits, kids from the surrounding area have a place to learn and even receive a meal.
They gave me a tour of the school where at any time there could be between 200 to 250 students learning how to read and do math. In addition, there is a nursery and daycare for children not quite old enough to attend.
As the tour winds down little kids come running up to the daycare’s fence yelling “hello. So the next time I buy something at fair trade I’ll remember their faces and the fact that I am not just buying a unique piece of local industry, I am supporting their future.
