Summary of the project

Crafts in historic Cairo are considered very important field of the intangible cultural heritage as living traditions, however, a proper and adequate inventory has not yet been prepared.

The project aims at preparing a based-community inventory for only twenty six crafts in the core of historic Cairo, which is located between the gates of Bab al-Fotouh and Bab al-Nassr to the north and Bab Zuwayla to the south. The chosen project area is a part of the administrative quarters of al-Gamalya and al-Darb al-Ahmar.

The overall objectives of the project are to initiate a national inventory based on the community participation in the core of historic Cairo and make such inventory publicly accessible. The inventory process will be achieved through the examination of twenty six crafts, characteristics of their workshops, their tools, materials and the traditional skills and knowledge that are still practiced.

The project is based on community participation: practitioners concerned with the traditional crafts, governmental and non-governmental organizations, local authorities, public and private organizations that are concerned with craftsmanship. Training and capacity building of the practitioners of the traditional crafts on making the inventory, its significance as a key step to safeguard the traditional crafts.