16 - 22 August 2001
Issue No.547
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 16 - 22 August 2001 Issue No.547 |
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Umbrellas under a cloud
From the beach to the workshop, Amira El-Noshokaty follows the shadow of the Egyptian beach umbrella
When I was a little girl, two things marked summer: the beach flag that told whether it was safe to swim or the day was only good for building sand castles and the umbrellas that literally covered every inch of the Alexandria beach front from June till August. Today, so-called "global culture" has swept the traditional bright umbrella to an obscure corner of the beach; the privatisation of beaches resulting in the proliferation of dull, uniform umbrellas usually sporting the logo of a multi-national soft drink.
The men behind the craft of shade photo: Randa Shaath
So, one day, driving through the hustle and bustle of Ramses street, the sight of a blue umbrella with an orange star print peeping from within the entrance of a small shop with a faded sign announcing "Hagg Mohamed Badawi and sons" arrested my attention. Later, Badawi would tell me that he opened his shop in the early 1960s, after having made his reputation in the old Cairo district of "Taht Al-Rabaa." He and a handful of other artisans keep alive a craft that goes way back beyond my own nostalgia, as far back as the Old Kingdom; drawings from the period show the high born languishing under a relatively new invention: the "sun shade."
According to popular history, however, Mohamed El-Hindi made the first "sea umbrella" in the late forties in his modest workshop in old Cairo's Darb Al- Ahmar district. El-Hindi specialised in tents and colourful marquees, from which he is said to have developed the idea of beach umbrellas. "My grandfather was the first to make beach umbrellas in Egypt," the current proprietor of the old workshop, Emad El- Hindi, recalls. An ingenious creation, yes, but simple to make and, apart from sewing machines replacing hands, the method has not changed much over the years. Emad's father, Fouad, also became a pioneer of umbrella crafts. "My father invented a ventilation system by adding an extra loose layer of cloth on the inside of the umbrella which allows air to come through the umbrella. Thus, while the umbrella blocks out the harsh rays of the sun, it does not stop the cool sea breeze," explains El-Hindi.
It takes approximately an hour to put together a beach umbrella, and most shops make around five a day. Sizes range from 90 to 150cm in diameter while prices range from LE40 to LE100. The "classical" umbrella is circular, the colourful material stretched across 10 "ribs" that radiate from a central pole. The ribs permit the sun shade to be opened and closed so that the umbrella can be carried with ease. The ribs come in three types. There is the bamboo or sweisi, the baladi and the sultani which is the best and most expensive. You can also choose the type of material for the shade, but the specialists will tell you the best on the market is kitan al-sharq, or oriental linen.
Despite the obvious passion Badawi has for the craft, he has kept his children away from his workshop. "This profession means three months of work a year," he explained. And business is not always brisk these days either. This season he has only sold 100 beach umbrellas instead of the average 300 in the days when every family had to have its own umbrella. Badawi complains about the increase in the cost of his basic materials. "Back in the 1960s when I first opened, the umbrella used to cost LE2 and I would sell it for LE2.50. The raw materials were extremely cheap; for example, the wooden bar cost around 25 piasters. Today it costs around LE70. So in the old days my clients could afford to come and load their car with beach items. An average family would purchase two beach umbrellas and three chairs at a total cost of LE15. These days such a purchase would simply be too expensive," he lamented.
El-Hindi admits that his forefathers in the umbrella business saw better days as far as sales were concerned and, although his shop continues to manufacture marquees and hand-made wall carpets, few clients are interested in buying a high quality umbrella. "Today, 80 per cent of umbrella buyers are those from the neighborhood: street vendors or low- grade employees who want an affordable umbrella." He contrasts these clients to the clientele his grandfather catered to in the 1940s when "high-class people" used to order beach umbrellas made of the finest quality.
Of course, the umbrella market has suffered from changes in holiday patterns: today you no longer go to Alexandria and use the public beach. If you have money you go to some fancy hotel or resort; if you are poor you use the public beach where cafeterias now have the right to force you to rent their own uniform versions of the beach umbrella.
And then what of the plastic Chinese umbrellas that have invaded the market and are selling for a mere LE15 apiece? Traditional umbrella craftsmen scoff at them: "they blow away in the wind," they say.
On Al-Mu'izz street, new entrants into the umbrella business are etching out alternative markets for their wares. Heba Mohamed has been in the umbrella business for several years. The key to success is working for companies. "Two of our major clients are the Cooperation Petroleum Company and Arab Contractors. They request umbrellas with specific colour codes sporting their logo," she explained. But is the new demand all good? Badawi complains that such orders are made through offices that work as middle- men between his likes and big clients. "To increase their profit margin they order the cheapest beach umbrellas from us and take a commission of at least two pounds on each umbrella," he complained.
But the business will live on -- through adaptation to a new market and the sheer will and pride of its veterans. "Last year, a client came to me with an old umbrella needing repairs. It was in perfect shape except for the cloth which needed to be changed. He bought that beach umbrella from my shop in 1968, and it was the first time in 32 years that it needed repair work," smiled Badawi.
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