The dense community of Al-Darb al-Ahmar, located south of al-Azhar Mosque, once flourished with artisans and small enterprises. However, poverty has prevailed in the area in the past few decades. Darb al-Ahmar households are among the poorest in Egypt, living on the equivalent of less than one US dollar per day. The district suffers a number of negative social, economic and physical factors, including low family incomes and an economic base that lags behind other parts of Cairo; the absence of essential community facilities and services; and a lack of private sector investment.

The Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) first became involved in Al-Darb al-Amar in connection with the Al-Azhar Park project in al-Darassa adjacent to the DAA District. As the physical work on Al-Azhar Park evolved – with the additional discovery and excavation of the former Ayyubid wall – the socio-economic fragility and inherent problems of the neighbouring Darb al-Ahmar district became more apparent. In order to address these problems, AKTC expanded the scope of its activities in the area and embarked on a comprehensive socio-economic rehabilitation program for DAA.

The Al-Darb Al-Ahmar Community Development Project aims to bring long-lasting improvements in the socio-economic status and the living conditions of the population of the area. Since 2003, CIDA has been supporting AKTC interventions to improve levels of employment in Darb al-Ahmar by encouraging development of entrepreneurship and job creation as well as involvement in job placement for local residents elsewhere in greater Cairo. These well-integrated initiatives comprising training, skill development, employment counseling, an apprenticeship program and guidance for vulnerable populations such as women and youth, will reinforce the development of a workforce that has skills which are suitable to the environment and needs of Cairo and its communities.

This program will be complemented with improved access to micro-credit through the newly established First Microfinance Foundation, Egypt (FMF-E), an initiative of the Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance. As a transparent, sustainable, locally managed lending institution, the First Microfinance Foundation will underpin entrepreneurial activity, especially for women. To further the advancement of private sector development in the community, contributions will also be made towards improved marketing for goods produced and/or sold by the residents that will attract customers and tourists, and contribute to the broader goals of economic activity and growth.

In response to the gradual disappearance of builders and craftsmen in Cairo’s historic urban areas, AKTC has initiated a program of training in traditional stone construction and conservation techniques within the framework of the Ayyubid city wall restoration project. The training program started in 2000 in conjunction with the initial phase of restoration works. It was considerably expanded in 2004 thanks to funding receive through CIDA’s Canadian Partnership Branch.

Training is integral to the ongoing restoration of the wall, and a major component of AKTC’s activities in the Darb al-Ahmar district of historic Cairo. The program is aimed at reviving the endangered craft of stone construction and provides training in the various aspects of stone restoration, thereby helping to maintain and reinforce local skills. Given the extensive need for traditional construction and conservation work in Cairo's inner-city areas, successful graduates of the apprenticeship training program may expect greater demand for their skills in the future. Residents and small workshops in the area also benefit from the increased employment and business opportunities brought about by the increase in building and rehabilitation activities.

On site training is organised in two levels (Trainee A and Trainee B), each lasting a minimum of one year. Trainee B is the entry-level trainee, where the candidate arrives on site with no previous experience in masonry construction or restoration. The interest of the candidate helps direct the placement of the trainee in the many possible trades offered through the project. Once the candidate has successfully completed the requirements and the minimum time required, there is a review usually carried out in the beginning of each year where a trainee is proposed to be promoted to the next level which is Trainee A.

The trainers are foreign and Egyptian experts in stone masonry and stone conservation and training consists of hands-on daily sessions tackling real situations that the monument presents. The trainee is always part of a working group, directly supervised by an expert in the field. The work group is made up of perhaps one or two other trainees, as well as former trainees and professionals in the trade. All team members participate in helping in the skills development of the newcomers. Thus, it is interesting to note that some of the people helping in training are former trainees of the programme, who have been employed and grown with the project over the last several years.

Types of training:

• Stone Cutting: includes some knowledge in stone quality and stone bedding, use of many manual and electrical cutting tools, sizing and shaping methods, surface tooling and finishes.
• Masonry Construction: includes some knowledge in scaffolding erection and shoring, measuring and checking levels, recognising the construction techniques of the historic wall, organisation and transportation of materials and tools, manoeuvring large stone blocks into position, lime mortar preparation according to specific mixtures, mortaring in place stones.
• Lime Preparation: includes some knowledge in lime, safety regarding the reactivity of quicklime, the process of adding water to quicklime (slaking), sieving lime after slaking (lime putty), proper storage and ageing of lime putty.
• Stone Restoration: includes stone cleaning methods, stone consolidation methods, stone injection, reattachment (with adhesives) of broken off fragments of stone, pinning together broken stone blocks, making and using mortars for masonry injection, mortar finish pointing of the joints between stone blocks, site organisation, safety working with tools and chemicals, properties of various materials, and knowledge of working with various manual and mechanical tools.

We had sixteen Trainees B and twenty-one Trainees A in 2004. We had four foreign trainers and eight Egyptian trainers (four of them former AKTC trainees). In addition, five of the site foremen have participated in the training process by supervising the work of the trainees.

In 2005, nineteen of the twenty-one trainees A were employed by the project. All of the sixteen trainees B were promoted to Trainee A level. We expect a large number of new trainees during 2005 according to the project goals for the present year.

More information on AKTC:  www.akfc.ca