The Zabbaleen 'The Garbage People of Cairo'

Bright Ideas in Travel 2024

"On the Zabbaleen Products website, you’ll see, for sale, jewelry made of recycled glass, quilts made of factory offcuts, and bags made of aluminum pull-tabs. “Zabbaleen” is the name of Cairo’s mostly Coptic Christian population of garbage collectors, who make a living sorting, processing, and reselling waste. It’s estimated that 80 to 90% of what’s collected is recycled in some way. An NGO called the Association for the Protection of the Environment (A.P.E.) aims to improve the Zabbaleen’s living and working conditions, teaching craft skills, providing workspace, and giving women artisans a way to be paid for goods they create from upcycled materials. UK-based Zabbaleen Products, run by Sheila Rozeik, pays fair-trade prices to these craftswomen and ships their work to shoppers around the world—then donates all profits back to A.P.E. to help fund its kindergarten and education unit. In 2024, the company also helped stock Zabbaleen-made bags in the online shop of Embrace the Middle East, a leading charity in the UK."