Maison Zoe – a sustainable and environmentally friendly project of today
The project was launched over three years ago under the brand name Maison Zoe and aimed to revitalize a number of professions and industries that, despite their long history and depth, have almost disappeared in ancient Egyptian civilization. Imagine that you have a sustainable and environmentally friendly product that ancient pharaohs used to decorate their temples and palaces. Would be a great feeling, right?
The first step of our project was to revive old industries. So we started looking for craftsmen and workshops who knew their way around decoration and were able to manufacture products from environmentally friendly materials such as Sheesham wood.
Did you know that a French priest taught the Egyptian sons in Hegaza village how to carve sesame wood? When the French priest Battos arrived in the village of Hegaza four decades ago in Egypt, he found many sesame trees and developed the idea of creating a handicraft from them.
This ingenious priest started sculpting on Sarsu wood in an innovative way and taught the villagers how to make distinctive sculptures from this rare wood that grows in all of Egypt’s governorates.
The French priests stayed in Egypt for almost fifty years, especially in the village of Hegaza. They lived with the village’s professional sculptors to use their skills in exquisite craftsmanship and large training workshops. These craftsmen then sold their handicrafts locally and internationally and thus secured their existence. It is also worth noting that the ancient Egyptians used sheesham wood, or rosewood, to make some rare coffins, utensils, and handicrafts. Many of these unique pieces can still be seen in the temples today.
The inhabitants of the village of Hegaza inherited this profession, which has developed into a rare and distinctive craft and is restricted to the inhabitants of this village. Both men and women work together.
Over time, the specializations in the woodworking profession expanded and the artists began to produce wooden boards, decorative tools, tools for use and exquisite woodworking, which were characterized by their craftsmanship and high quality.
As a supplement to our trip and our project to revitalize the ecological and extinct professions, we also want to present our cotton products made from Egyptian organic cotton seeds. They also contribute to the history of ancient Egypt.
In the eighteenth century, cotton trees fascinated everyone so much that the agricultural area for cotton grew rapidly and Egypt became a world leader in the cultivation of the finest cotton and its export to all parts of the world.
Have you ever heard of organic cotton? Organic cotton is a type of cotton that is grown climate-tight under certain conditions. The special cultivation differs from normal cotton in the use of organic fertilizers in the soil instead of chemicals or pesticides. Across Egypt, there are more than 800 farmers who grow organic cotton on a total area of more than 950 acres.
This organic cotton is not only a sustainable substance that provides farmers with around 20% of the water used for cultivation, but also a friend of the environment because it absorbs the carbon dioxide emitted.
In search of further new trends, we decided that the sustainable products are also classified as environmentally friendly internationally. That is why we started to offer products made from palm leaves, as these meet the above criteria. There are no limits to the product size.
Another wonderful and beautiful material that we have included in our portfolio is alabaster. This material is also environmentally friendly and has already been used by pharaohs to make alabaster sculptures for decorative purposes or as a souvenir. Today, in addition to the utensils, it is also used to produce distinctive lamps that amaze everyone.
Our last trips were so successful that we decided to go on a third tour of Egypt. We were able to add environmentally friendly products made of red copper and recycled glass to our range. Working with copper is one of the oldest and finest handicrafts in Egypt. Visiting this country you can experience the splendor of Egyptian art in various variations. Whether copper candle holders or copper trays, a lot can be made from this material and makes every product more robust and high-quality.
Recycled glass is also one of the special materials on this planet. A lot of energy is saved with every production and the environment is made a little better by recycling the old glass.
At Maison Zoe, we offer our valued customers many products made from colorful recycled glass, which can be used as a decoration or as a household item in every household.