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Khaled Abu Ahmed
Khaled runs a small workshop in Cairo’s “City of the Dead”, an areaof central Cairo where houses and workshops are surrounded by ancient cemeteries. Khaled learned the art of recycled glass blowing from his father, who learned from his father. Khaled’s son is also a glassmaker who works in his father’s workshop. The glass they use is gathered from all over Cairo, hotels, trash pits and factories. Trash collectors sort and clean the glass and resell it back to factories, for the beer and wine bottles, or to glass makers like Khalid who use clear, green or brown glass in their gas powered kilns. Other colors are made by adding chemicals like Iron oxide and Cobalt, or painting the outside of the products. Aid to Artisans is in the process of testing the glass for food safety. If not already food safe because of lead or other metals, we will work with the artisans in cleaning the raw material stream, making both the products and process safer for end users and the artisans.
