The Maker Faire is an international event based in the United States that is now held in almost 40 countries around the world, including Egypt over the past six years. It saw a remarkable turnout this year, indicating that the event has found its place on the Egyptian calendar. Mahmoud Moussa, a facilitation consultant at the Maker Faire, explained that the aim was to encourage small industries in Egypt. “Our key supporters are San3a Tech, Fab Lab Egypt and the US Embassy in Cairo. The event has been held for the last six years, and this year the faire was visited by almost 12,000 visitors. The number of makers contributing products was around 150,” he said. The Maker Faire “The event helps Egyptian small industries to market their products and communicate their ideas in workshops that discuss business ideas. There were makers interested in art and crafts, technology, engineering and recycling at this year's event,” he added. The Maker Faire has also contributed to establishing five fabrication labs in various governorates helping small industries. These Fab Labs provide makers with materials as well as the tools they need during the manufacturing process. Ahmed Hussein and Ibrahim Salah, the owners of the Location View Company for Environmental Awareness and Recycling, won first prize at the closing ceremony of this year's Maker Faire in Cairo for their six-metre statue of the ancient Egyptian goddess Bastet. The two artists had designed a statue weighing 400 kg made out of 3,000 pieces of scrap. The design grabbed the attention of visitors and made it to the closing ceremony as the best design. “The Pharaonic cat is an icon of ancient Egyptian civilisation, and it has been found in many ancient tombs in small sizes. We thought we would make an icon of this sort in bigger dimensions from recycled material to spread awareness about recycling,” Salah said. “We aim to collaborate with the government to take such designs and decorate Cairo's streets and squares to spread more awareness about recycling. We worked eight hours a day for many days to get this statue done for the Maker Faire in Cairo. Our dream is to set up a museum for all the crafts that can be made out of recycled material,” he added. Mohamed Khairi, a student at Ain Shams University in Cairo, joined the Maker Faire as a representative of the astronomy club at the university. He has been attending the Maker Faire for the last three years and explained that the idea behind it was to spread awareness about science and astronomy to the widest possible audience. The Maker Faire “The Maker Faire gives us a chance to reach a large and diverse audience, including children and adults. We hold introductory sessions about astronomy and choose basic topics to talk about like the solar system and various types of telescopes while exhibiting handmade models of the things discussed,” Khairi said. “We were also able to sell our magazine Stardust at the Maker Faire. This presents material about astronomy that can grab the attention of various readers, like life on Mars, the history of astronomy, and the possibility of life across the universe. We also market our desert camps in Sinai, Wadi Al-Hitan in Fayoum and the Western Desert where people can enjoy star-gazing,” he added. Mostafa Mahmoud Abdel-Razek, owner of the Recyclers Company, was another participant at this year's Maker Faire exhibiting various home accessories made out of recycled material like glass, wood and plastic. The Maker Faire “I established my company in 2016, the aim being to spread awareness about recycling. Buying home accessories made out of recycled material is not common in Egypt, but many customers find the products appealing when they are informed that they are made of recycled material,” he said. “What I like most about the Maker Faire is the community of makers who gather under one umbrella of small industries. Exposure is another important factor, and meeting similarly minded people and being exposed to makers who have a passion for what they make, whether in recycling, art and crafts or science and technology, is definitely an added value.” “I believe such events are a chance for many makers to exhibit their products and market their ideas in an excellent way,” Abdel-Razek concluded.
*A version of this article appears in print in the 12 March, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
