Hassan Masri - Eastern
In the footsteps of the ancient Egyptians of the Pharaohs, the people of the village of Qaramous in the province of Sharkia continue to grow and manufacture papyrus in a way that may not be available elsewhere in Egypt and the world.
Egyptians knew papyrus for thousands of years when it was used by the pharaohs in writing and blogging, but disappeared with technological development and modern paper industry, and his presence became limited to a few purposes, especially tourism industry souvenirs in Egypt.
But it is interesting that when you wander in the village of Qaramous you will not mistake your eyes that women are the heroes of the scene, not without a house of women working in the manufacture of papyrus, while men play the largest role in its cultivation, where the main crop in the village beside rice.
"We have no government work, no land, no heirs, other than our work in the production of papyrus." This is what she told Al-Jazeera Net Azza, 16, who has been working in the papyrus industry since her childhood, like her nine brothers.
As for the secret work of women in the production process, Azza asserts that it is normal inside the village; work does not need to get out of the house, where the sticks of paper come from the field, to start the work of women cutting and then peeling, and then put small pieces in hot water with chemicals such as chlorine For 24 hours, it is then sliced via special presses, and eventually leaves in the sun to dry and takes its final shape.
Government negligence
Despite the scarcity of the profession, the village suffers from neglect, despite statements by officials about its interest, such as previous statements by the governor of Sharkia Mamdouh Ghorab, regarding the importance of supporting the village and the formation of a supreme national committee to protect the craft of agriculture and papyrus industry, and included in the UNESCO heritage list this year.
The lack of interest in the village negatively affected production, according to more than one farmer for the island, including Atef Mohamed, who has been working on the cultivation and production of papyrus for forty years, reviewing the history of papyrus production and its beginning as a craft in the village since 1977.
He pointed out that the price of the paper was five pounds (the dollar about 16.5 pounds), but with the weak export and tourism; the price dropped to about 2.5 pounds, despite the high production costs, adding, "With the decline in the price of paper and poor sales also decreased daily labor, where men get For 150 pounds, while the girl gets a hundred pounds.
He pointed out that the most prominent who comes to buy paper are artists and owners of tourist bazaars, especially as tourists love to buy papyrus because it reminds them of Pharaonic civilization, especially with the coloring of papyrus and engraved Pharaonic drawings.
He explained that the main challenges facing the village are the shortage of water allocated to the village, which negatively affects the production of papyrus, and calls on the authorities to help support the marketing efforts of the papyrus plant, especially in light of the lack of tourism, which is the main source of income for the villagers, suggesting that Paper is used in the issuance of university degrees or various educational levels.