The fair trade organization Yadawee was founded in 2003 by Hisham El Gazzar and Tarek Sheta, with the mission to promote and export Egyptian handicrafts. The organization works together with artisans from all over Egypt who are experts in their fields and create high-quality products. Yadawee is a “Provisional Member” of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO). The organization's work is based on fair trade and its principles.

A wide selection of accessories are made by the artisans and workshops that work with Yadawee, including glass products from mouth-blown glass specialists inspired by ancient Egyptian accessories. Among the products which are distributed by Yadawee are also Egyptian cotton scarves, wood products or cushions. To put it in the company’s own words, Yadawee encompasses a huge range of original high-quality Egyptian products that radiate authenticity, showing Egypt’s culture heritage at its best.

Cairo-based glassblower Yaser Massoud is one of the artisans who cooperate with the fair trade organization. In his workshop the traditional glass artisan produces mouth-blown drinking glasses, vases, bowls and other products made from recycled glass, some of which are available in our shop.

The brick furnace is the centre of Yaser Massoud's workshop. In the furnace's right half, the broken glass is first melted before the glass artisan takes out some of the molten glass with a stick and quickly forms it into carafes, glasses, bowls or vases. In the left half of the furnace, where it is still warm, yet cooler, the newly formed glass products are put to slowly cool down. The temperature difference outside the furnace would be too great, and they would break. If the soot layer inside the furnace becomes too thick, the new glass products will be blackened with soot, which is why the furnace has to be rebuilt every other week.