Our Story

Yadawee, meaning “handmade” in Arabic, is a for-profit social enterprise that was established in 2002 by Hisham El Gazzar and Tarek Sheta to support artisans in Egypt export their products and have a sustainable decent income. Yadawee does this by working with local and refugee artisans and craftsmen to produce high-quality handicrafts while ensuring fair trade practices every step of the way.

Fair Trade is Our Foundation

Yadawee has been committed to top-quality handicrafts and supporting the lives of artisans and craftsmen since day one. To support the standard of living for artisans and craftsmen, as well as help them grow in their own skill areas, Yadawee follows the 10 principles of fair trade established by the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO). These include:

Opportunities for disadvantaged producers
Transparency and accountability
Fairtrade practices
Fair payment
No child labor, no forced labor
No discrimination; gender equity; freedom of association
Good working conditions
Capacity building
Promotion of fair trade
Respect for the environment

Yadawee artisans and craftsmen are also encouraged to continue refining their skillsets through Yadawee-hosted training courses covering design, fair trade, price calculations, and quality control.

Because Yadawee supports fair trades and its practices, we work directly with in-country community organizations to provide economic empowerment to artisans and craftsmen in remote areas and disadvantaged groups of the community.

In addition to fair trade, Yadawee is passionate about inclusion of refugees in the global value chain. In 2017, Yadawee took over management of The NilFurat Project, which, overseen by UNHCR, is a safe space for learning, expressing, experimenting, and production created for a group of refugee and Egyptian women who bring together their cultural diversity and stories to make high-quality artisan products and generate their own income. At that same time, Yadawee also became a member of MADE51, which is another organization run by UNHCR that promotes economic inclusion of refugees.

Working with Yadawee

When you buy from us, you’ll have everything you need in one place. You can browse our already-created home décor and home textiles, or we can work with you one-on-one to create custom-made products. Beyond authentic handicrafts, our team can help your company with printing, packaging, and logistical needs.

The Yadawee team is experienced in working in the global marketplace and has clients around the world, having completed export shipments to Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, the U.S., and the UK, to mention a few.