Who are the zabaleen people?

The zabbaleen are a sub-class of poor workers living in the main cities of Egypt. They migrated to Cairo from the Nile Valley in Upper Egypt (the south of the country). Unlike most Egyptians, these peasants were not Muslim, but Coptic Christians belonging to Egypt’s native church.

What do the Zabaleen do with the organic waste that they collect?

Before 2004, the zabaleen would take the rubbish they collected back to their homes on the edge of the city, sort through it, and make a living from selling the salvaged materials to factories and wholesalers. The remaining organic waste would be fed to their pigs, whose meat also brought them a steady income.

Where is Zabbaleen?

Greater Cairo
Spread out among seven different settlements scattered in the Greater Cairo Urban Region, the Zabbaleen population is between 50,000 and 70,000. The largest settlement is Mokattam village, nicknamed “Garbage City,” located at the foot of the Mokattam Mountains, next to Manshiyat Naser.

Who are the main inhabitants of Garbage City?

THE GARBAGE MEN, THE GIRL, AND THE GOAL With a population comprising of more than 260,000 of the city’s poorest inhabitants, the Manshiyat Naser district is home to a group of Coptic Christians known as the Zabbaleen – garbage collectors in Arabic. An estimated 70,000 of them.

Who are the Zabbaleen and what kind of religion are they?

Egypt is a Muslim-majority country, but the Zabbaleen are Coptic Christians, at least, 90 percent of them are. Christian communities are rare to find in Egypt, so the Zabbaleen prefer to stay in Mokattam within their own religious community even though many of them could afford houses elsewhere.

Is there a church of the Zabbaleen in Egypt?

Christian communities are rare to find in Egypt, so the Zabbaleen prefer to stay in Mokattam within their own religious community even though many of them could afford houses elsewhere. The local Coptic Church in Mokattam Village was established in 1975.

How did the Zabbaleen community get under threat?

Nevertheless, the Zabbaleen have formed a strong and tight-knit community. However, their existence and way of life has come under threat after the Cairo municipal authorities’ decision in 2003 to award annual contracts of $50 million to three multinational garbage disposal companies.

What did the Zabbaleen do with their garbage?

The Zabbaleen would sort through household garbage, salvaging and selling things of value, while the organic waste provided an excellent source of food for their animals. In fact, this arrangement worked so well, that successive waves of migrants came from Upper Egypt to live and work in the newly founded garbage villages of Cairo.