Alabaster

Cairo / Misr El-qadima

Adel Fouad, the founder of Selka Workshop, has specialized in Alabaster since 1973, in Cairo. He has been working in this craft for years, his goal was to have his own workshop since he was a child. Alabaster is a generation-passing profession that we inherited from the Ancient Egyptian culture. They originally got Alabaster from Assiut, Suez, Arish, and Minya. It is transported by trucks until it reaches its place where they cut it into squares. Then, they take it first to the lathe to shape it, and lastly, they glaze it to have that shine. In his workshop, 13 skillful artisans are working with him, from whom are his sons. They all have that passion for this profession. Adel used to be working as an apprentice in a workshop in Cairo, then when he got to master the skill, he decided to have his own place and to involve his sons in the project. It’s pretty much shown in Adel that he enjoys his profession so much, that he once said that he left everything behind to work in Alabaster. This craft has taught him patience and excellence. Adel Fouad and Fair Trade Egypt have been working together since 2009. We both exerted all the efforts we could to keep his passion alive. We provided him with the support needed to show up in the market by helping him develop different designs and doing real strategic planning on how to develop the project. We introduced him to local and international markets so he could achieve the success we both strive for.