Fayoum Oasis is a trading link between Egypt and Europe. Since 1998 it has exported hundreds of containers with mainly handmade pottery and wooden products. The business is named after the place where most of its producers live and work. Over the years Fayoum Oasis has generated income for dozens of producers (and their employees) and maintained strong relationships with those producers. This is essentially a ‘cottage industry’ with each producer running his own small production unit. This unit usually consists of only a few wheels and kilns. The pottery is produced in a traditional manner with the craft passed on from generation to generation and has altered little in maybe 2000 years.
Consequently, Fayoum Oasis’ pottery expresses a distinct and authentic handmade pottery tradition, with each piece bearing the marks of the craftsman’s hands. Many of the products’ shapes originate from traditional domestic utensils like water-jugs, pitchers and store-pots. Fayoum Oasis as the trading link to foreign markets has always had a vital input into issues of quality and aesthetics as well as in developing new products.
