aAt 6 a.m., Mohammed Ahmed Saeed Mohammed steers his boat from Al-Qarsaya Island through Cairo’s Nile toward the capital’s riverside clubs. Fifteen years ago, he looked for fish. Now he is hunting plastic bottles.
“The fish escaped from the plastic chokehold,” said Saeed, who has lived on Giza since arriving as a 14-year-old fishing apprentice from Assiut, further south on the Nile. He never returned to his village, married locally, raised three children, and now lives with his 12 grandchildren on the island, which is home to 200 families.
Declining fish populations due to plastic pollution in the river have forced Al Qarsaya’s approximately 180 fishermen to switch from traditional fishing to waste collection.
Launched in 2018 by Egyptian social enterprise Basita, Berry Nile aims to clean rivers by paying fishermen above market prices for the plastic waste they collect. The initiative buys plastic at significantly higher prices than standard recycling plants pay, offering an economical alternative at a time when fish populations are dwindling due to pollution.
The compressed plastic bottles are awaiting processing at Berry Nile’s facility in Al-Qarthaya. Photo: Hanaa Hamad/Guardian
In the past, 25 kg of fish was harvested each day during winter fishing. Currently, 4 to 5 kilograms can be caught and sold for 70 Egyptian pounds (1.10 pounds) per kilogram. Collecting plastic generates higher income. Plastic sells for 33 pounds (0.52 pounds) per kilogram, up from 8 pounds (0.13 pounds) in 2018, when the Berry Nile scheme began. A kilo of tin cans sells for 85 pounds (about 1.34 pounds).
During the slow summer season, Saeed collects 20kg of plastic every day. At the peak of winter, plastic alone brings in between £2,000 and £3,000 (£31-47) each month.
“I married my three children with the money I earned from collecting plastic,” said Saeed, 60. “My sons couldn’t find any other work, so I built a cafe on the island for my eldest son, Mohammed.”
Al-Qarsaya is located in the heart of Cairo, a city of 22 million people, but it remains isolated and only accessible by ferry or fishing boat. Communities of fishermen and farmers are grappling with environmental degradation, and communities shaped by rivers now have to contend with a deteriorating ecosystem.
Fishermen interviewed by the Guardian recalled catching between 6kg and 17kg in previous years, but instead of relying solely on fishing, all participants are now working to collect plastic on the Berry Nile.
Very Nile’s recycling facility produces yarn from plastic bottle caps mixed with fiber. Photo: Hanaa Hamad/Guardian
The Very Nile initiative has collected more than 454 tons of plastic waste from the Nile River since 2018 and processed it at the 6th of October recycling plant. The organization distributed 150 free boats to fishermen and expanded to three locations, including Saeed’s birthplace in Assiut.
“We work with fishermen every day and are practically living a full life on this island,” said Amna Karamala, 20, who heads the initiative’s community director while studying online at the University of Khartoum due to the conflict in Sudan.
The initiative employs 25 island women in kitchen operations, sorting workshops and product design. They established the Al Karsaya Emergency Clinic, began training farmers to grow vegetables, and purchased produce for the initiative’s kitchen, which serves visitors to the island.
Recycling work underway at Very Nile’s workshop. Photo: Hanaa Hamad/Guardian
Mr. Karamala described an experiment in using fibers from recycled plastic for lining to increase the durability and extend the service life of the boats being distributed.
Hoda Gamal, one of the women who attended the workshop, said fishermen initially interpreted the decline in catches as divine punishment. “They didn’t know what environmental pollution and plastic pollution meant,” she says. “They didn’t realize that by collecting those bottles and plastic bags, they were becoming guardians of the Nile’s water.”
Saeed’s wife died three years ago on an island without adequate medical services. His three children did not complete their education. The island lacks employment opportunities for women outside of the Bury Nile Project.
Al-Qarsaya is located opposite Bahr Al-Azam Street, one of Giza’s main streets, and is home to the tourist attractions of the Pharaoh’s Village. The island’s inhabitants are primarily engaged in fishing and agriculture on the land they occupy.
Al-Qarsaya’s central location contrasts with its isolation, and the island retains some greenery rare in other parts of the capital. The waste, often collected by fishermen from party boats operating on the Nile, is processed into products made from bottle caps and plastic bags. The fishermen who once fed Cairo with fish now feed the recycling economy with raw materials converted from river pollution.
This story was published in collaboration with Egab
