Mohammad Kamal, 59, a worker at Salama Mahmoud Salama's dye workshop, carries yarn to hang out to dry AFP/Khaled DESOUKIShare this contentCAIRO: In Cairo's centuries-old Darb al-Ahmar district, Salama Mahmoud Salama's traditional dye workshop is a multi-coloured hive of workers busy with all kinds of fabrics.
They lay out the long, flowing threads, to be used for everything from handmade shoes to rugs and drapes, and dip them in large, hot colour baths."We start by levelling the cotton out, then immersing it in dye and adding salt to get the colour right," 83-year-old Salama says one busy morning."We rinse the wet threads before flattening them out in an electric presser and then leave them out to dry," he adds.
While industrial dye factories usually work with at least of a tonne of yarn at a time, Salama says he can colour as little as half a kilogramme.But he says competition from foreign products has hurt the homegrown textile industry. "In a popular store in Al-Azhar a wool sweater sells for 200 pounds , but you can find something similar on the street that's made in China for 30 pounds ."To stay competitive, Salama has started using firewood instead of fuel to heat the baths."As long as people need clothes, this job will never die," he says with a glint in his eye.
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