Recycling Project in Cairo

My friend "A" from The Sinai Peninsula sent me this information which I think everyone in Egypt should know about.

Its a wonderful recycling project at no cost to you, but extremely helpful to its beneficiaries.

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I've suggested this NGO to our residents coordinator here and thought maybe folk here would also be interested.

They deliver bags to you to collect household waste and then they collect it each 2 weeks.

It's a great recycling project run to give jobs to poor Egyptians, so maybe you want to give them a call too and help them.

You can do it company, individual or compound basis.

All you do is give them a call in English and they will put you on the system. Easy peasy and you can help give Egyptians jobs and help recycle our rubbish!!!

Here is all the info here for you to spread around : )

For companies they also provide metal containers to hold the paper and cardboard as well as special bags for glass, plastic, cloth etc.


Dear Mrs A

Thank you!

Gamayit El-Misbah El-Mudii provides a free collection service for residences, companies and schools to collect paper, plastics, glass, clothes, household appliances, batteries, furniture and other recyclable items no longer needed. Since 2005 they started to collect recyclable items and sell it to recycling companies. In 2005, the founder, a very energetic and enthusiastic Egyptian Lady started this collection service to be able to provide work and income for poor people. She has done so for almost 70 employees by now!

Apart from providing jobs for the poor, this service fulfills another desperate need: to Clean Egypt! It is also important to separate our waste so recycle companies can make new products out of it. This way there is less waste to go to the landfills, less air pollution through burning landfills and less health implications and even savings of natural resources. New Egypt is Clean Egypt!

The NGO collects almost everything, of course glass, plastic, paper, cardboard, Carton boxes of Juices like Pure, old clothes, electrical equipment, furniture, batteries, metall. Until now they DONT collect the carton box of the Juhayna Milk and these Styrofoam packages because nobody buys it from them. If things are already pre-sorted it facilitates their work.

For the PET-bottles which you best collect by bringing the air out and putting the cover again (less volume), just ask for the big collection bag that you can hang in any store area. The carton you preferably collect in any carton box ex. Nestle or Aquafina etc. Smash cans to reduce the volume and put it in any plastic bag. For the old clothes you will get a special bag to put them in.

To make sure to be registered in the system please fill in the electronic form:
(if the link does not show properly please just copy it into your browser)

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dHpiQTdTMjhqV2xXa2RoUk95Snh5MlE6MQ

We will contact you to inform you about the regular bi-monthly collection date at your place.

If you want to get more information, if you have special needs or if there is any problem please do not hesitate to call, and we might be able to sort it out 0170588869 or 0143282727(english)

It might be that things do not work out perfectly for the first time but once you are in the system and your place is known, it works pretty well – with reliability.
We are learning together!

Thank you and best regards

For Gamayit Misbah El Mudii

Catherine

Badawi Shai - Bedouin Tea

Badawi Shai is my favourite of all the drinks I have had in Egypt. I like this more than the Tamarhindi, karkadi and all the other juices and teas I have tried.

I've just uploaded details & recipe for badawi shai on my food blog

If you like my blogs, please consider "Like"ing me on facebook

Problem with Rats?

Recently, I've heard a couple of complaints from my friends about rats entering their houses. Its not a seasonal problem, but seems to have ocurred due to construction nearby or major movement of goods in the surroundings.

My first recommendation would be to get a cat to do the job for you. I find the rat problem here in Cairo much less than most metropolitan cities and my guess is that it is the feral cat population that keeps the rat (and also cockroach) population to a minimum. In most Indian cities,  the stray dog population is high and hence the feral cat population is low and the rat population is high. In cities like Bombay, I have seen rats bigger than the average cat in size and have actually seen 2 rats chasing a cat.  (The cat did not even have a chance)

A friend of mine recommended this poison in case you have a rat problem. She said to ask for "sim li firan" at the pharmacy. Its a grey powder that you need to sprinkle over a piece of food/fruit that the rat may like to nibble on. If you put  it on too thick, it may alert the rat to the presence of poison, so just a sprinkle. You may need to do this a couple of nights in a row, till the rat dies or stops coming back inside. She also says that this is quite a toxic product so to be very careful with how you handle it and to keep it out of the way from children and household pets. This supposedly causes internal bleeding in the rat.

There are rat traps available on some parts of the city, but I'm not sure where exactly.

St Andrews Refugee Center Craft Shop

Visited the St Andrews Refugee Centre again today. A lot of new classrooms have come up since I last visited, a little over a month ago.

For the first time, I saw children leaving after school was out and the sheer joy and happiness at attneding school, on most of their faces was infectious.

Today the Craft shop was also open and I popped in for a quick look-see. Lovely paintings and water colours by some of the extemely talented refugees take up the most space. There are also papier mache mirrors with African designs on them. A few bits of African jewelry and some other bits and bobs.

The prices are very reasonable and the proceeds all go to a great cause. Helping these wonderful and talented people stand on their feet and earn a living.

I've blogged about the other services available at St Andrews before.

Give a call to check when the craft shop will be open on check their website:
www.standrewsrefugeeservices.org

If you are leaving Cairo and have things that are in usable condition and you can't take them with you, please consider donating to St Andrews. They make sure that it reaches people who really need it.

A Belly Dancer's Blog

I was chuffed to see "BellyLorna" as one the Followers of My Blog.

I visited her blog and found it very interesting. We always see the performance side of a dancer and don't really have an insight into the dancers point of view. Lorna's blog http://bellylorna.blogspot.com/ gives the reader that insight. She is a Scottish lady who now performs in Cairo.

I enjoyed reading her blog posts and then found a link to a video of her performance:



I realised I have watched her perform on the Nile Pharoahs Boat at least 4 times. And I always recommend our house guests to do their Dinner Cruise with Nile Pharoahs, because she is the best Belly Dancer on the boats as of now and the Boat also serves Indian Food if you book in advance.

So yes, I am a fan of Lorna's dancing and her blog. I'd recommend the blog, it makes really interesting reading.

Here's another older video

Pet Store : Chez Berge - Mohandaseen

I normally pick up pet supplies like cat food and kitty litter from Hyper One / Carre Four/ Metro. But sometimes I just need a new treat for my cat that these stores just don't offer.

The usual fall back is Sami's on 26th July street in Zamalek who has a wide range of pet grooming and play products, but I just discovered a much nicer option.

Chez Berge is located on 40 el Falah Street (off Lebanon street in Mohandaseen) Their number is 3305 4806

They stock a lot of Italian Pet supplies that are much better quality than a lot of stuff I have seen in Cairo in regular stores. The brand they stock is Ferplast which has much smoother finish on its plastic items.

They do name tags engraving for pets, stock litter boxes, baskets, sleeping rugs, carriers, toys, food, grooming brushes, litter. The whole shebang, at least for cats and dogs

They also have a vet on premises. But call for the doctors timings.

If you do buy a carrier from them, they are much better quality than most available in Egypt, but do note that the locking mechanism on ferplast carriers may not be allowed on a lot of airlines. Most airlines only allow a double spring lock door carrier on board as checked in baggage or cargo. So do verify with your airline, if you are planning to buy a carrier for air travel.

Services available at St Andrew's Refugee Services

I have met Kathy and they are doing some really wonderful work at the St Andrews Refugee Centre. Below is a mail from her on all the services they offer through the center.

We have a number of services related to questions that frequently come up on this list:

Donations: We accept donations of used clothing, shoes, household goods, furniture, opened shampoos and lotions, [legal] pharmaceuticals, etc. Please remember us when you are leaving Cairo. If you have a lot of things, we can arrange to pick them up. Call Ahmed at our office: 2575-9471.

Translation or Interpreters from Arabic to English: we have trained interpreters and translators available for standard rates (usually about 50 LE per page or per hour). Call us.

Printing t-shirts: we can screen print t-shirts with almost any design you want--or we can design one for you. You can specify colors, how many, Arabic or English. Call us.

Referrals for Cleaners, Electricians, Computer Techs: If you need a good housecleaner, electricians, computer tech, call us. We have started a job bank to match refugees with potential employers. You can employ a refugee who has been well trained in such services.

Arts and crafts, paintings: We have several talented staff artists. Come by to see the products and paintings available for gifts for friends and family. If you want to take a suitcase of things to sell at home or paintings to arrange an exhibition, we can make arrangements.

Internships and volunteers: We have a lot of opportunities for internships and volunteers. You can tutor or teach, help with construction, help prepare legal testimonies, market products, write grants, help with homework, or be a conversation partner for refugees. If you have time to give, anything from 2 hours weekly to full-time, we'll put you to work. It's very rewarding!

We have a webpage with information on volunteering and people can email us from it, also. Its address is: www.standrewsrefugeeservices.org

THANKS for thinking of St. Andrew's!
--
Dr. Kathleen R. Kamphoefner
Co-Director
St. Andrew's Refugee Services
38 July 26th Street
(above the Nasser Metro Stop, Midan Isa'af)
office: [20-2] 2575-9451

Book Review : Egypt Pocket Guides - Alberto Silioti

The AUC Press has brought out a wonderful series of pocket guides for Egypt by Alberto Silioti.

Each of the books gives a quick glimpse into the area it covers, in just enough depth for the average tourist.

The aerial view maps reminiscent of the DK Eyewitness guides are much easier to navigate than flat maps.

The books are printed on glossy paper which brings the photographs used to life. There are just enough technical details for those mildly interested in them but not too much to bore those who aren't.


Egypt Pocket Guide : The Pyramids covers the pyramids of Giza, Saqqara, Dahshur and Meidum. It also includes Memphis just to complete the Pharonic circuit around Cairo.


Egypt Pocket Guide : Luxor, Karnak and the Theban Temples includes everything that you would want to see in and around Luxor. Luxor Temple, Avenue of sphinxes, Karnak Temple, Colossi of Memnon, Medinat Habu, Ramesseum, Hatchepsuts Temple, Luxor Museum, Mummification Museum and Dendara.


Egypt Pocket Guide : Islamic Cairo gives the historical time frame of the various Islamic dynasties. It also covers the major Islamic Monuments in Cairo : Ibn tulun Mosque, Gayer Anderson Museum, al Ghuri Complex, Al Azhar mosque, al Hakim mosque, Khan al Khalili, Qalawun & Barquq Complexes, Sultan Hassan Madrassa, al Muayyad Mosque, Blue Mosque, Citadel, Mamluk Tombs, Nilometer and the Museum of Islamic Art.


Egypt Pocket Guide : Coptic Egypt starts with an informative section on Coptic Christianity and monasticism. It only covers the Synagogue of Ben Ezra, Coptic Museum and Hanging Church in detail. The rest of the churches in the Coptic area; it just skims over. It does give details of all 4 monasteries in Wadi Natrun and the 2 monasteries of the Red Sea but not those of Upper Egypt.


Egypt Pocket Guide : Alexandria and the North Coast covers everything of interest in Alexandria: the Qaitbay Fort, Lighthouse of Alexandria, Serapeum, Pompei's Pillar, Roman Theater, Catacombs, Greco Roman museum, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Jewelry Museum, Montaza Palace and some of the Ncropolis around Alexandria and Abu Qir. It even covers Alamein.

Each of these books costs 30Le if you buy them in Egypt.

Samir and Aly - Stationery shop - Cairo

I haven't really needed any stationery after coming to Egypt as I had a surfeit of branded pens, folders and notepads from my client companies that accompanied us during our move here. I tend to store most information on my computer though and don't use too much stationery either.

But today, we needed some canvas and we tried a couple of stationery stores in Mohandaseen. Samir & Aly was the only store among those we checked which carried canvas. Not just any canvas, they had different sizes, pre-stretched on a wooden frame.

They also carry a ton of different stuff. They have a lot of Pidilite/Fevicol products for those familiar with this Indian brand. It was interesting to see the Fevicol craft idea books in this store. The books are dual language and it was surreal to see books with Hindi script being sold in an Egyptian store. (instructions are also in English)

Any kind of pens, pencils, paint brushes are available. It seemed like you just had to think of a stationery product and it was available, including spiral binding machinery and computer printers.

One section I found really interesting was products to make miniature models of houses. Tiny lamp posts, hedges, palm trees, cars etc. I remember that earlier we had to make each of these items ourselves to use in our models. Now they are imported cheap from China :)

They have a section on childrens books and a few educational toys too.

The branch I visited was on Shehab Street in Mohandaseen. But they do have other branches across the city.

Its a one stop shop for your stationery needs.

Cattery/ Cat Sitting in Cairo - Cairo Animal Inn - Cairo Suzi

There is a lovely lady named Suzi who has a cattery in Maadi. I leave our cat with her when we travel.

She has an open cattery. The cats are allowed to roam around the house through the day and she only boards them at night.

The single room option is 25LE a day.

There are other options like 4 large cages in a room for 10-20 LE. These are really large cages - half the height of the room and different lengths and widths.

If it’s a long term cat sit and depending on your cats personality, she may even take the cat to her own home. (she has her own cats at her home)

If you have more than one cat, they can be boarded in the same enclosure.

You pay her 50% in advance and give her the dry food for the duration (she feeds them the wet food herself) and she has a form which she needs you to fill regarding your cats habits and other details.

She really loves cats and I feel comfortable leaving ourbaby with her when we travel away for more than 2 nights. I've been doing this since the last 2 years.

Suzy's number is +2 010 567 0915. Her boarding facilities are called Cairo Animal Inn.

I did research a lot of catteries when I was initially searching for a boarding option for our cat 2 years ago. Most of them boarded the cats in tiny cages, that barely had space for the cat, her feeding bowls and a litter box.

Anyone who knows cat behavior, would know that they do not like their food bowls and litter boxes in proximity to each other. These cages were quite cramped.

Suzy's Cairo Animal Inn was the only place I saw that had open boarding and space.

She does occasionally board a dog or two, but away from the cats.

The cats get human contact for more than a couple of hours each day.

The money she collects, she uses to spay and neuter the stray cats in her area and get the strays medical attention when necessary.

I would highly recommend this place.

Sushi Recommendations in Cairo

Sushi is one of the few foods, that I do not like. I've tasted it in different forms and locations, but it is not something I have developed a taste for.

Hence I cannot provide a primer on the best sushi in Cairo. But my friend Mona Daoud, loves sushi and this is her list of recommendations for sushi in Cairo.

"Mori Sushi. There are two in Zamalek; one which is right before the fish gardens and the other is a branch in Sequoia (reservation essential) It tops the other branch because they serve alcohol and have a pretty view. There is also a branch in Mohandessin.

In Maadi, there is Gaya on Road 253 next to seoudi market (stick to their temaky, it's awesome)

Then there is the Makani chain (excellent fresh salmon sashimi) but their other stuff is good too. There is a branch in Maadi next to Maadi grand mall and one in Mohandessin somewhere near Syria street. I heard the one in Heliopolis was horrible. There are other branches but I have no idea where.

There is also Sapporo (Fresh and basic, no fusion, no experimentation, authentic and positively succulent) at the Sheraton in Dokki. The prices are like sushi everywhere.

(Gaya and Makani are the cheapest two in Cairo)

Jo Sushi on Mohamed Mazhar street in Zamalek has it's on days and off days. Depends on your luck... just make sure to tell them not to use wasabi while preparing sushi for you because they mistakenly think that if they're generous with it, it will taste better.

There's also INakaYa , 6A Midan Aswan in Mohandessin. They have all you can eat nights for 90 LE on Saturday, Monday and Wednesday. I haven't tried them though, so I'm not sure if they're good. I only heard about them.

Asia Bar on Blue Nile (boat in Zamalek) They have amazing sushi though it's more expensive than all other places, but it's worth it.

And there's Hanami in Giza, overlooking the Nile. 70% of the time their sushi was spot on.

There's L'Asiatique in Le Pacha but I don't like their sushi.

Bon Apetit"

Church of St John the Baptist, Maadi

Headed over to the Church of St John the Baptist in Maadi for the Ash Wednesday service this evening. This was the only church where I could get reliable information about the service timing which was in the evening.

It took me almost 2.5 hours to drive from Mohandaseen to Maadi in the crazy traffic this evening. (traffic seems much, much worse in the last few days, anyone know why?)

Although, today the drive was worth it. The church is very small and intimate (compared to the All Saints Cathedral). The service was well attended and there was beautiful instrumental music accompanying the singing and the hymns.

I wouldn't mind driving back here on Fridays for regular services.

Although the church is small, the church is extremely active in helping its congregation including a sizeable number of refugees, especially through their Spirit of Giving Catalogue among other initiatives.

Their newsletters indicate that they have youth meetings regularly for various age groups, book club meetings and plenty of other group activities.

More details on Church of St John the Baptist, Maadi are visible on their website http://www.maadichurchstjohn.org/

Fatimid Walk

It was such a pleasure to be able to attend a PTP walk again (Its been over a year since I could last attend a walk) yesterday.

As added bonus, my husband was able to come along too and he too got to see the beauty and history of Islamic Cairo through Camel's eyes.

We started at Bab Zuwayla (entry 15LE for foreigners, 1LE for Egyptians) where the gate itself was built by the Fatimids, but the minarets were added about 300 years later. We climbed up the gate and some PTPians even climbed up the minarets. The view from here is lovely. Unfortunately today was not a very clear day, so it was hard to take long range pictures of the skyline.

Our next stop was at the Fakhahini mosque where we heard the stories behind Al Hakim the "eccentric" 3rd Caliph in Egypt.

We then crossed the road to reach the Mausoleum of Al Saleh Nagm ad Din Ayyub which is built on the site of a Fatimid palace - Beit Al Qasreen (which lent its name to one of the books from the Naguib Mahfouz trilogy).

Most PTPians then headed back for some refreshments, but since my husband had come to the area after so long, the 2 of us decided to carry on walking down Sharia al Muizz ud Din towards the Northern Gates.

We looked for some of the other Fatimid monuments that were mentioned during the presentation. We identified the Al Aqmar mosque and Al Hakim mosque before arriving at the Northern wall.


We also wandered into the Beit al Sihaymi which is a beautiful Ottoman house (actually 2 houses), not as well furnished as the Gayer Anderson museum, but some rooms are semi furnished.
We had a wonderful time. The weather was comfortable for walking, the pace relaxed, we met old friends, made new ones, learned a lot, ate roasted batatas, some wonderful local bread stuffed with dates(boreik - sometimes also stuffed with cheese) and some interesting pink and white sweets (moz halawa) and fell in love all over again with Islamic Cairo.

On another note, I would also recommend that you visit the Bein Al Qasreen area in the evening when it is all lit up. It transforms into something mystical in its beauty.

Royal House Supermarket, Heliopolis

I wandered into the Royal House Supermarket in Heliopolis on the advice of a friend who lives in the area.

She sold it to me by saying "its a lot like Alfa Market with the foreign goods, but at much better rates" and she was spot on.

The exterior belies the sheer size of the place. It is almost as large as Carre Four. There is a separate section for home utilities like cutlery, the big cleaning items, crystal, gift items - things I would classify as non-consumables. This is on the right when you enter.

On the left are the consumables. Food, drink and FMCG products. There is also a book shop by Dorling Kindersley, a Cinnabon cafe, a House of Donuts outlet, a radio shack, a Monginis bakery outlet among other shop-in-shops.

This is a place where you can pick up most items on your shopping list. Prices are also reasonable. I would highly recommend this over Spinneys for anyone living in the area.

Edited on 25 Jan 09 to add: Royal House is located next to former Merryland garden, between Roxy and Makhkama square at Hegaz street. (You need to take a turn and go off Hegaz street after the garden - if the garden is on your right)
Phones: 2451 4447 or 2451 4448.

Chinese New Year & Cooks Day off at CSA

26th of January will be the start of the Chinese New Year of the OX.

In honor of this, there was a mini Chinese bazaar at the CSA yesterday. Some interesting Chinese food items from an embassy consignment like red beans flavored noodles and other hard to find Chinese ingredients were on sale.

There was also a stall by China Treasure which offers a selection of interesting curios from China.

There was also some home cooked Chinese food including dumplings, stir fried vegetables and meat in sauces. Some food was being prepared hot on site, including pan fried dumplings, Chinese stuffed bread (like parathas) and kebabs.
Yesterday was also Cooks day off, which is held every Thursday & Sunday between 9am & 1pm on the premises. Normally the food on offer is of the home cooked variety and more reasonable than restaurant food. Over the last few months I have seen Egyptian, Indian, Brazilian, Phillipino, Italian among the variety of cuisines on display.
From past experience, some foods keep well in the fridge for a couple of days, but some of them have to be eaten the same day as the food is packed very fresh and without preservatives.

Maadi Women's Guild Christmas Bazaar

One of the Best Bazaars that I have attended in Cairo. This was a mammoth effort. Around 80 stalls. There were the usual suspects from the Tupperware/jewelry designers/shawls/sweaters/candles brigade.
But what was truly unique was the sheer number of charities and NGO's that were given the opportunity to present the handiwork of their wards. Some beautiful work was exhibited by the nuns of St Barsoum Monastery - Toys, decorations, embroidery, lace, knits, Coptic Icons, Stained Glass and needle point made by underprivileged families in the Helwan area. They have a wide variety of handicrafts and I would highly recommend visiting their workshops at El Maasara in Helwan.


Other Charities that exhibited work of wonderful quality (which is so hard to find in Egypt) were House of Charity (3381 1063), Woodwork Center of Hagaza (012 759 9479), Touch her World and Tukul Crafts.
There were products created by orphans, young girls, prisoners, refugees and other marginalised groups. This was an excellent opportunity to pick up Christmas gifts in one location while contributing to some great causes.

Entry was 30Le which was completely worth it, unlike the over priced bazaar at Narmer American College

There were stalls that had activities of finger painting, wax hand impressions, decoupage etc. for the little kids, like Art Cafe


There were quite a few Food stalls too. Chinese by Peking and Dragon House, Shawarmas from Bistro, Smiley, Max's Restaurant and a few others.
Amera was offering some excellent hot dogs (I wonder where they buy their sausages from, but they are the best quality and consistency I have eaten in Egypt)

Jared's bagels were making fresh waffles and corn dogs on the spot. I'm not sure if corn dogs are on the regular menu at their Road 9 outlet. I'll have to check the next time I'm there.

If you attend only one bazaar in the Christmas run-up, then this should be it!

Zafir - the Egyptian t-shirt shop!

Zafir is a cute Egyptian T-shirt shop on
15B Taha Hussein Street
off Marashly street.
(walk left from Kipling)
Zamalek.

Right next to Touch of Glass

The designs on the tshirts are unique. some have Arabic calligraphy on them with proverbs, some have truck art, some pun on Egyptian pronunciations and some are just cute!

The tshirts come in a range of size and colours and there are a specially curved cuts for women.
They all cost a uniform 110LE and if there is any defect you can bring it back within a week.

Each tshirt comes with a printed card attached explaining the significance of the particular design in English and Arabic. So they are really cute gifts for people back home.

The overall cloth quality looks good. Will let you know how well it washes once I wash my own :)

Edited on 24 May 2009 to add:
Daily News Egypt, did a full length article on this store a couple of years ago. Read the article here.

Siwa House - Shop for Siwan Items in Cairo

Siwa House
Hand Embroidery and natural products from Siwa Oasis.
17 Ahmed Heshmat Street
Zamalek

+2 02 2737 3014
+2 02 2736 3139



They have a really interesting range of items from Siwa. There are 2 parts to their collection - Siwa Creations and Siwa Organics

Their shop in Cairo is much fancier than the counterpart in Siwa which is quite basic. The walls of the shop are decorated with salt crystals and Siwan pebbles.

Siwa Creations items include hand embroidered clothes and Siwan Jewelry. These may seem a little expensive at first glance unless you feel it is worth the price for individually crafted items.

Siwa Organics comprises of Organically grown Siwan specialties like Olives and Dates and products made out of them like tapenades and salad dressings.

You can buy Extra Virgin Olive Oil in Lemon and Orange flavors too. (upto 65LE for a liter)
Pickled and herbed olives also cost about 25LE for a regular sized bottle.
Tapenades and jams (olive, carrot, sycamore, bitter orange marmalade) are also 25 LE.
There is a wonderful variety of Salad dressings in olive tomato, orange and sycamore flavors for 25 LE.
A Kilo of organic dates costs 10LE.
They also have pure organic salt crystals in small jars (165 gms) for 10LE, the olive flavored salt goes for 20LE. These can again be used in salads in their natural form.

Touch of Glass - Shop for Glass Work in Cairo

Touch of Glass is located on
15A, Taha Hussein Street
Zamalek
Cairo

+2 02 2737 1488
They have some really nice items in glass to serve food in and for decorative purposes in different colors.

Their rates seemed reasonable, in the range of 100LE onwards.

They also have a small selection of scented and decorative candles.

Wady Craft Shop / Tukul Crafts - Free Trade

The Craft Shop next to the All Saints Cathedral has been in existence since 2003. It is called the Wady Craft Shop.

What I do like about this place is that all the products are created by disadvantaged groups: hearing impaired, visually impaired, refugees, prisoners and other disadvantaged families. The center sticks products from the Tukul Craft Program for Refugees, The Boulaq Centre (a women’s aid program for widows and single mothers), The Deaf School Vocational Training Centre, Shams El Birr (a school for visually impaired people),The Menouf Social Service, The Prison Ministry and several independent producers including African refugees and Egyptians.

Whatever you buy here is fairly priced and helps support these people.

I've seen a range of gift options available at this location. African print bags, purses, pot holders, hand made albums, jewelry, mother of pearl inlay work, embroidery, wood work.

, ,

You can find the shop on the side of the All Saints Cathedral (inside the Cathedral gates, to the left when you are facing the Cathedral)
5 Michael Lutfallah Street
Zamalek

Timings:
Open Daily
Winter : 9:30-5:00pm
Summer : 9:30-6:00pm
Sundays & Fridays 11:00-4:00

Tel: 2735 4350
wadycraftshopATyahooDOTcom

You can view some of the products here:
http://wadycrafts.com/shop/
Tukul Craft Program