Profile
Egypt Crafts Centre (ECC) is a Non profit organization that seeks to empower Egyptian marginalized communities through the practice of Fair Trade. More specifically, capacity-building, local & international trading support services are provided to the producer organizations working under the umbrella of ECC and its implementing partners. Furthermore, ECC carries-out awareness-building activities so as to promote Fair Trade as an alternative approach to development and trade. ECC is also a founding member of the Fair Trade Egypt Foundation.

It is in 1998 that Egypt’s Crafts was started by COSPE (Cooperation per lo Sviuloppo dei Paesi Emergenti), an Italian NGO working in international cooperation, and NSCE merged their efforts, and created the first Marketing Link Program to alleviate poverty among marginalized communities through the revitalization of different crafts techniques and the practice of Fair Trade.

ECC is now at its third project with COSPE and NSCE and has greatly increased its own capacity to address the immediate goal it seeks to reach, i.e. community empowerment. ECC went from dealing with 8 producers groups to handling 38, from exporting its first order to Palermo, Italy in 2001, to being present in 11 different countries from North America and Europe, and finally, from being a simple marketing outlet to a full-fledged Fair Trade Organization.
ECC is now at its third project with COSPE and NSCE and has greatly increased its own capacity to address the immediate goal it seeks to reach, i.e. community empowerment. ECC went from dealing with 8 producers groups to handling 38, from exporting its first order to Palermo, Italy in 2001, to being present in 11 different countries from North America and Europe, and finally, from being a simple marketing outlet to a full-fledged Fair Trade Organization.
           
The mission and Vision of Egypt’s crafts is to alleviate the level of poverty among marginalized communities and to empower local communities by offering disadvantaged artisans capacity-building and trading support services. Promoting the application of Fair Trade principles as a culturally, socially, economically and environmentally responsible business ideal.

Egypt Crafts produces ceramics, baskets, cushion covers, household accessories, leather products, Jeweler among other products they can be purchased from their Egypt shop, in the US world of good shop, in the Netherlands Stitching Amandla in Germany Feluka trading.

In terms of Fair Trade Egypt Crafts has benefited by being able to reach to a wider market, improving the living conditions of the communities they work with and also offering trainings

Egypt Craft Centre draws its strength from their great in house expertise and the large valuable network (from donors, technical trainers, academic institutions, fair trade practioners, to other organizations in related fields, etc.) weaknesses is lack of Human resource and working capital for the groups.

Way forward for Egypt Crafts Centre is to increase local and international distribution for their products, create a strong brand in Egypt as well as aim to increase the production capacity of those products which have a greater corresponding demand than the current supply by training new workers.