Baharyya Bazaars

One of the things we have had the pleasure to help out with a bit, and watch grow, is a small project for a group of women in the Baharyya Oasis.   In Baharyya, there are a group of women that have been given the opportunity, and sewing machines, to provide for their families by sewing and hand embroidering lovely tunics, dresses, hats, bags and whatever their imaginations can think up.  All the stitches that adorn these items are traditional to the Baharyya Oasis.  With the help of a group of women here in Cairo, these lovely ladies have created a beautiful small business for themselves.  

Egyptian cotton fabric and thread are bought from the fabric market in Cairo and transported to Baharyya and is then transformed into one of a kind pieces of pure delightfulness. The bundles of finished clothes are wrapped individually with the name of it's creator written in Arabic on a slip of paper.  It is then placed on a mini bus for an 8 hour drive back to the city of Cairo.  Many times the bundles include thoughtful gifts of dates or other tokens of thanks.  A packaged arrived on thanksgiving day which included a small turkey that was slaughtered and packed with salt that morning (if only it came early it could have solved our turkey dilemma...of course it was a very tiny turkey:)).  After sorting, cataloging, and pricing the product it is then sold at numerous shops and bazaars around the city.  It is truly a labor of love for both the people from the Oasis and the people here in Cairo.  A love for needle-pointing, relationships, support, and shared stories has provided, for two very different groups of women, far more than just a livelihood.