Knitting

Cairo / Helwan

"Bashayer cooperative workshop was established in 1996 in Helwan, Egypt. With a number of skilled women artisans, the team was able to embrace their talents and passion in the field of Crochet. This craft requires being very attentive to details, since it’s all about needlework and sensitive techniques. By using hooked needles to create fabric by interlocking loops of yarn or thread, artisans are ready to create their magic. The process is similar to knitting, but instead of using two needles, crochet uses a single hook. Since 1999, Fair Trade Egypt and Bashayer still work together, and with the help of a small group of marginalized artisans who were striving to make a living, they could develop to be over 350 women specializing in crochet. The products vary between small tablecloths, coasters, crocheted trim towels, to clothes and personal accessories. They’ve also added the amigurumi technique to their list which enables them to create crochet dolls with soft textiles. The group has also made a name for itself by trading and doing business on their own by joining bazaars and retailing across Egypt. The group of Bashayer cares about all what's related to women, they constantly raise awareness regarding their rights, empower other women, and evoking anti-violence movements. Bashayer and Fair Trade Egypt have been able, since 1999, to dive into win-win situations. We were and are still able to help them with all facilities; from product development, capacity building and teaching them how to sell and deal with the merchandise, to showing them off already to the market by creating marketing strategies to support them in a professional manner. With all of these efforts adjoining, improvement and achievements have been increasing in a way that’s satisfying to both of us. "