Art! Or Something Like It: Paper Making in Old Cairo

Written by on January 4, 2011 in Africa, Entrepreneurship, Featured, Middle East - No comments
Art in Social Entrepreneurship

Happy New Year 2011 to all of you out there, I’m celebrating this new year with my very first blog post to Social Earth!  I can think of nothing better than to share with you the work of one of Ashoka’s most remarkable fellows: Dr. Mohamed Abou El Naga, an Ashoka Arab World fellow since 2005 and an active social entrepreneur who brings to light an artist’s perspective to social change in Egypt.

As a leading supporter of social entrepreneurship, Ashoka identifies and supports leading social innovators with system- changing solutions, reshaping our communities, and the societies we live in. The Ashoka Arab World office, established in 2003, acts as the regional office for the Arab World, serving 7 Arab countries: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. It is aiming to expand, and discover more social entrepreneurs at work to redefine our social understandings of change.

“In Japan, I saw how paper-making could revive a whole community, creating jobs and generating income for unskilled women and men – and I realized I could do the same in Egypt”

With a PhD in Philosophy of Art, and a passion in photography and painting, Abou El Naga established El Nafeza Foundation for Contemporary Art & Development in Old Cairo, to revive the paper- making industry once more in Egypt. El Nafeza (Arabic for window) is an outlet for the creation of handmade paper produced by this women’s cooperative in an environmental friendly fashion, that’s a lot of fun to experience, creating jobs for those with the artisan skills needed to revitalize the industry.

Pressing pulp to dry on wall

Once you are at El Nafeza, you sense the female predominance; you’re greeted by the happy faces of smiley women, women who are mostly deaf and mute, using sign language to communicate their strong sense of belief in the importance of the paper industry. It has an indoor and outdoor section. The outdoor section, has the different agricultural by- products used to make paper. The indoor section is a whirlwind of paper, material, paint, products, and action at its best: a pure definition of an arts workshop- beauty in the eye of every arts lover.

Abou El Naga saw how simple it was to create paper and decided to transfer the know- how to anyone who’s interested. In a country plagued by seasons of black clouds when farmers burn rice straws, a country where people do not understand the potential they have for a greener future, El Nafeza runs many awareness activities in the form of paper- making workshops, helping participants in the creation of paper from rice straw, Nile lilies and banana stalks. Participants pass through the process, learn and enjoy the first steps to a future of recycling.

Learning how to create photo frames at the Nafeza workshop

First, participants learn how to soak the raw material in water, and then have it put into a mixer to create the pulp needed to make paper. The used mixer is a large one, a traditional “falafel” machine that is transformed specifically with the purpose of creating pulp. Then they go through the process of filtering the pulp, and having it stuck to a wall to dry. In a day (or may be two if it’s winter) they go back and peel off their very own handmade paper. They are then invited in the workshop to get creative and make new art products for El Nafeza with colors and patterns that are hand mixed, matched and printed!

Many schools have workshops at El Nafeza, where kids experience firsthand what it really takes to make paper, They are taught about the importance of recycling paper, saving trees, and the beneficial & environmental friendly use of some types of agricultural wastes.

Once you’re at El Nafeza, you’re sure to be leaving with a bag full of colorfully designed notebooks, with recycled paper and a card telling you the story behind the paper…

A sample of El Nafeza's products

So, to all of you out there thinking of visiting Egypt- if you ever pass by Coptic Cairo/ El Fustat, take the time to pass by El Nafeza, watch all the action, learn to make paper, and experience life in full color at one of the best Art Centers in town!

** Where is El Nafeza? Old Cairo- El Fostat El Gedida – 2nd Zone – Building# 94 – Apt# 4

** What are El Nafeza products? El Nafeza has an array of products varying from notebooks, sketch pads and folders to photo frames, lamps and gift bags. They easily customize products to your needs as well!

** Want to know more?! Visit: www.elnafeza.com & http://www.ashoka-arab.org/egypt/mohamed-abou-el-naga.html for more information.

Ashoka

Innovators for the Public

Ashoka is the global association of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs—men and women with system changing solutions for the world’s most urgent social problems.

Nairy Abd El Shafy

Nairy is an enthusiastic social activist with a passion for community service and serving refugee communities. She is currently exploring the world of social entrepreneurship through her work at Ashoka Arab World, and trying to help bring to life young agents of change through the MOSAIC committee at CISV Egypt.