Below, you will find more information on our projects.
Cairo’s so-called “Garbage Community” has been thrust into the international spotlight with the release of Garbage Dreams, a documentary that follows three teenagers earning their living from the garbage trade. But anyone who steps inside the district of Menashayat Nasr quickly realizes that this is a world far removed from red carpets and critical acclaim.
Our half-day programs here will take you through this predominately Coptic Christian enclave – its monasteries, its churches, and its garbage. You will learn about garbage, the controversies surrounding it, and how it is recycled to produce new products.
For every 24 visitors this program receives, a bio-gas digester will be built and installed in a local community center or private home. Those that participate will receive a full update on who their contributions have benefited. Click here for pictures from our latest installation.
This social initiative allows you to participate in what Zikra’s founder calls ‘exchange tourism’. During this exchange, you are given the opportunity to spend a day in the life of an average Ghor Mazraa inhabitant. Members of this Jordan valley community may teach you to prepare a local meal during tomato harvesting season or make traditional kohl (natural black eyeliner).
The cost of the excursion provides those involved with compensation for their efforts and contributes to a micro-fund loan pool that provides much needed financing for small business ventures.
Visitors not only depart Ghor Mazraa with new skills, but also with a better sense of the country and its varied inhabitants. The ambitious project is one that we are proud to support and eager to share with our clients.
This vision of this non-profit humanitarian effort is to empower destitute women and children in Egypt. Empowerment is achieved through assisting women in developing new skills, helping to educate children and ultimately enabling these individuals to control their own lives and make their own decisions. The more women and children who become self-sufficient, the better the quality of life they and their families can enjoy.
One such skill these women are taught is sewing and the resulting products are an organic representation of who made them. All clients embarking on a customized program with us will be given an Eboo bag (purchased on the client’s behalf) to keep their Backpacker Concierge mobile inside.
