ABOUT YOUR
HANDCRAFTED TREASURE
Fancy Cake Birthday Card
2502190
“This card is for the person who likes a bunch of
burning candles stuck into a fancy cake exactly once
a year,” reads the front of this handmade birthday
card. Durable, lightweight papyrus paper was the
most significant writing material in the ancient
world. Used first around 4000 B.C., Egyptians
developed paper from the papyrus reed, which grew
plentifully along the banks of the Nile. Papyrus
paper 5x7 inches Made in Egypt
To learn more about this product visit
www.tenthousandvillages.com/fancy-cake-birthday-card
ABOUT THE ARTISANS
Jirmit Papyrus Group is a registered
fair trade organization that aims to
generate work for unemployed young
people in the Egyptian town of Mallawi.
In this regional capital in Upper
Egypt, about 300 kilometers south of
Cairo, employment opportunities are
hard to find. Artisans with this
family-owned workshop make hand-painted
cards, bookmarks and other art on
authentic Egyptian papyrus. Handmade
papyrus is an ancient form of paper first known to have been used in Egypt
5,000 years ago.
Emad Ekram Attia started Jirmit Papyrus in 1990, as a way to earn an income
while finding a creative outlet for his artistic talents. Papyrus art
preserves an Egyptian artistic tradition, while honoring the Coptic
Church’s practice of commemorating saints through use of painted icons.
Ten Thousand Villages has purchased products from Jirmit Papyrus Group
since 1993 (through MCC Egypt initially, directly since 2003).