Current Project:
Large Posters by Vistaprint
A Message from Nancy Saahira, our Co-Founder:
Hi all you beautiful women creating peace! I just wanted to share a little bit about our current project and why I felt called to help. Years ago I purchased a CD by Hamza Al Din, a Nubian musician. As I listened to the music, I read the liner notes. He told of his village of Nubian being totally submerged under water and our his people living in diaspora, longing to return home. This story stayed deep in my heart until earlier this year when I was talking to my friend Sah'ra Saeeda. She was teaching about Nubian dance and culture and I remembered what I had read many years ago. She shared with me her story below and her desire to help. I knew that this was something our group could support. And so this idea was born.
A heartfelt story from Sah'ra:
When the Aswan dam was elevated in 1933, a group of Nubians moved north to Luxor to establish a community. Today the village of Manshiet El Nuba, 7 Km south of Luxor, supports a population of 25,000 people that still maintain their rich heritage and unique culture shown in their language, traditions, arts, crafts and music.
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The Nubian Cultural Center was built in 2006 with the purpose of sharing some of the Nubian culture with visitors and also as a training center to assist Nubian ladies to learn their traditional handicraft techniques.
When I first started taking groups to the Nubianhouse it was for the education about Nubian culture and the peaceful friendly atmosphere in a beautiful setting. We would visit the main Nubianhouse where Mr. Gamal Latif would explain Nubian Culture through the symbolism contained in paintings or carpets; we would tour the grounds where there was a replica of a fully appointed Nubian home, a waterwheel, and beautiful gardens.
As a souvenir I would normally buy one or a couple of their hand-made scarves. They normally had about 10-15 available and were busy weaving a couple more.
This time when I went in both December January the main Nubianhouse was still bright, clean and beautiful, with Mr. Gamal Latif there to greet us. We took our tour, took many photos and bought the usual scarf. I asked if there were any of a special color combination I had liked. He led us up to the second story. In one of the rooms were easily one hundred boxes, each with 100 unsold scarves. My heart broke as I caught the meaning, I could not speak but he understood, he said quietly "they have to keep working".
On the grounds, the waterwheel was broken, and other structures on the grounds were in need of repair, the key to the home replica did not work so the inside of the home was falling apart (but all this takes money). The garden was still beautiful because men, proud of their culture, were volunteering their time.
Since the revolution and news casts full of fearful images, Upper Egypt, especially, is suffering from only a trickle of tourists. We were there during "high season" and we had been the only guests for some time.
I can't send them money directly as a donation (non-profit groups are now suspect in Egypt and money wires and bank transfers for no commercial reason can be interpreted as corruption), but I can help to sell their scarves. And sell them at a fair price, enough not only to pay for the weavers and staff, but to get money into the community as well.
I decided that as I travel and teach I will give the gift of a scarf to those who donate $20, this is just a minimum, you can send as much as you like. This will cover the cost of the scarves, with additional scarves for me to carry and for shipping boxes home. Since returning to the States, I have collected donations from JtE-1 in Phoenix AZ and JtE-2 in Saint Louis MO. The new Facebook group has also stimulated interest. I look forward to hand carrying the donations to Luxor and to buying more scarves in June.
Our new group on Facebook is called: "Show us your scarf from the Nubianhouse Luxor" where we can upload photos of the Nubianhouse and us with our scarves. You are welcome to stop by and check out our group!
Sah'ra Saeeda
Here's how YOU can Help Support Nubian Women Crafts:
Instructions:
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The Nubian Cultural Center was built in 2006 with the purpose of sharing some of the Nubian culture with visitors and also as a training center to assist Nubian ladies to learn their traditional handicraft techniques.
When I first started taking groups to the Nubianhouse it was for the education about Nubian culture and the peaceful friendly atmosphere in a beautiful setting. We would visit the main Nubianhouse where Mr. Gamal Latif would explain Nubian Culture through the symbolism contained in paintings or carpets; we would tour the grounds where there was a replica of a fully appointed Nubian home, a waterwheel, and beautiful gardens.
As a souvenir I would normally buy one or a couple of their hand-made scarves. They normally had about 10-15 available and were busy weaving a couple more.
This time when I went in both December January the main Nubianhouse was still bright, clean and beautiful, with Mr. Gamal Latif there to greet us. We took our tour, took many photos and bought the usual scarf. I asked if there were any of a special color combination I had liked. He led us up to the second story. In one of the rooms were easily one hundred boxes, each with 100 unsold scarves. My heart broke as I caught the meaning, I could not speak but he understood, he said quietly "they have to keep working".
On the grounds, the waterwheel was broken, and other structures on the grounds were in need of repair, the key to the home replica did not work so the inside of the home was falling apart (but all this takes money). The garden was still beautiful because men, proud of their culture, were volunteering their time.
Since the revolution and news casts full of fearful images, Upper Egypt, especially, is suffering from only a trickle of tourists. We were there during "high season" and we had been the only guests for some time.
I can't send them money directly as a donation (non-profit groups are now suspect in Egypt and money wires and bank transfers for no commercial reason can be interpreted as corruption), but I can help to sell their scarves. And sell them at a fair price, enough not only to pay for the weavers and staff, but to get money into the community as well.
I decided that as I travel and teach I will give the gift of a scarf to those who donate $20, this is just a minimum, you can send as much as you like. This will cover the cost of the scarves, with additional scarves for me to carry and for shipping boxes home. Since returning to the States, I have collected donations from JtE-1 in Phoenix AZ and JtE-2 in Saint Louis MO. The new Facebook group has also stimulated interest. I look forward to hand carrying the donations to Luxor and to buying more scarves in June.
Our new group on Facebook is called: "Show us your scarf from the Nubianhouse Luxor" where we can upload photos of the Nubianhouse and us with our scarves. You are welcome to stop by and check out our group!
Sah'ra Saeeda
Here's how YOU can Help Support Nubian Women Crafts:
Instructions:
- Sign into your PayPal account as you normally would.
- Once there, click on the "Send Money" tab.
- Complete the form including adding the recipient's email ([email protected]) and how much you wish to send. At the bottom of the page, choose the "Personal" tab. Select the best option available, such as "Gift." This will allow you to mean no fees for the organization you are donating to.
- In the Notes section please put your name, address, phone number and colors of the scarf you would like to receive.
- When done, press "Continue" and the transaction will be complete.
Then, when Sah'ra returns from her trip in June 2013, we'll start shipping out your scarves!!