Residents of This Egyptian Village Are Taking Matters Into Their Own Hands With an Inspiring Renovation
By: Toka Omar
Inspired by the unified colors of Moroccan houses, a petroleum engineer called Abdelaziz Gabr from Sibribay village in the Gharbia Governorate decided to renovate his village. The village, like most Egyptian villages, has dull houses and lacks strong infrastructure on many different levels. For example, Sibribay village has unpaved muddy roads which are very tiring for its residents and commonly result in accidents, especially in winter.
Gabr started by beautifying the rooftop of his house where he used some affordable materials, such as hydrated lime and flowers. He then contacted his neighbors who were encouraged to join his initiative and share the expenses of their neighborhood renovations. Unfortunately, some of the residents couldn’t afford their share and the project was about to be put on hold, but they overcame this problem by implementing an installment plan.
By being economical and putting the effectiveness of the used materials into account, Eng. Gabr decided to pave his neighborhood with interlock bricks. He told us that he chose this material because it is easy to install or remove, has different thicknesses to choose from, and it is affordable.
This amazing initiative has encouraged the residents of nearby neighborhoods to follow his steps. And when we asked him about his future plans, he told us that he wishes that the government would help them with the main market of the village since it needs a lot of work and they can’t afford it.