80, El Kasr El-einy str. Garden City,
Cairo
Cairo Governorate
مصر
- Arts
- Heritage
GebRaa is a social enterprise aims at reviving Egyptian traditional crafts at risk through product innovation in design, function, material and use of green technology. GebRaa markets innovatively to reach out to new markets locally and internationally through using tools such as design thinking, engaging clients in the design, prototyping and testing process as well as storytelling and creating an online blog to raise awareness about Egyptian cultural heritage. GebRaa has a social and cultural responsibility to empower artisans and culture bearers economically and socially. The company has 7 employees, starting from the CEO and founder who is also project supervisor, a project manager, and 5 employees responsible for the operational, sales, and marketing activities. Funding of GebRaa comes from direct sales of products in local and international markets, in addition to grants to accomplish approved projects.
- Become a creative hub for Egyptian artisans and become the intermediary party between artisans and designers
- Introduce modern Egyptian green handcrafted responsible products through product development in design, material, function and use of Green technology
- Promote the Egyptian culture and support cultural diversity of the world.
- Enhance the societal status of artisans and promote succession among community youth;
- Protect disappearing Egyptian traditional crafts using mostly natural resources with low environmental footprint;
- Build capacity of artisans and help them develop the crafts to create sustainable livelihoods
GebRaa's main activities are to
1- Produce our product lines for local and international customers
2- Serve our regular customers through producing their customized orders in our network of workshops
3- Produce customized orders for businesses such as corporate gifts or hotels, examples of products are; spa products, kitchen ware, table wares and bedding as well as interiors
4- Export Egyptian high quality artisanal products to importers, distributors, studios owners, chain managers
5- The main activity of GebRaa currently is to produce products that matches the modern taste of local and international customers while saving the authenticity and cultural values of the traditional craft. GebRaa is currently running a project to develop a new identity on online platforms and create a new powerful e-commerce website.
6- For the social impact part, we work on activities that empower women, youth and underprivileged people. We participate in pro-girls initiative led by GIZ Egypt each year to teach young female students about social entrepreneurship.
Through opening a dialogue among GebRaa and other network members in Egypt that work in heritage field. This will be done through networking events, organizing debates with other Egyptian members to discuss the ways in which we can support youth empowerment and boosting cultural dialogues.
GebRaa supports diversified Egyptian traditional handicrafts that hold in them the rich cultural heritage. Many crafts were transmitted and shared among different cultures, where craftsmen created their motifs and patterns that express their own culture. Through ALF network, we will be able to provide our craftsmen with cultural exchange opportunities where they can teach other cultures their skills and learn from them, so that they can grow and maintain their skills, leading to crafts preservation and transmission. Furthermore, GebRaa is excited to learn from other ALF members about their experiences of making real improvements in cultural sector’s policies.