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By all standards, July is a very hot month in Egypt and we also had to organise the filming for BBC when Ramadan was upon us! The whole country tends to come to a halt during the day before it gradually wakes up after Iftar when Muslims break their fast.  The planning with the BBC crew was very short as it rapidly dawned on us that it was near impossible to obtain official filming permission from the Egyptian Press Office within such a short timeframe; nevertheless the BBC crew had taken the view to come down to Cairo and effectively sort things out on the ground.

Unfortunately, following the events on Tahrir Square earlier this year, the local press authorities remained very sensitive and did not welcome journalists that much with opened arms; the first surprise at the airport came in the form of a mere confiscation of all filming equipment with no clarity as to when this may be returned. It took a couple of days, a lot of negotiation, patience and the BBC local office's assistance to untangle the matter.

The following day, our new friends from the BBC were given a warm welcome at the El Nafeza Foundation. This was no ordinary day for all involved; the buzz was starting to build up.  After introducing each other and showing our new friends around the workshop to explain our unique Egyptian technique of paper making, we were delighted and proud to see their enthusiasm when they discovered our products for the first time. Their surprise was probably caused by the colourful, traditional oriental and Muslim patterns embedded in beautiful paper artefacts, like photo albums or boxes.  A bit as if every item was extracted from the Arabian Nights and had the capacity to provoke instantaneous meditation by casting a spell on whoever holds it.

As El Nafeza's project is multi-faceted - environmental, social and cultural - the filming had to approach coverage from different angles.  One very important to us was the job creation for disabled and disadvantaged women, so Marina the producer, thought it would be a good idea to go to our deaf and mute workers' homes, to speak to their families and find out how El Nafeza had given them a better chance in life.  We decided to go and film disenfranchised areas to show the other face of Egypt, the one tourists are not likely to see, the area where our workers come from.

Cairo suffers very intense pollution, from cars, factories, and the burning of any agricultural waste. This pollution creates severe respiratory problems among the local population, children in particular.  El Nafeza offers a creative way to tackle this problem, by recycling the rice straw and turning it into paper, it provides an income generating opportunity for the local population.

We thank Marina and Bruno for a memorable filming tour of our everyday life, their visit was very intense but we enjoyed sharing our passion and experience with them. A huge admiration for Marina who was already a few months pregnant and impressed us with her endless energy and professionalism! We also thank the BBC team for selecting el Nafeza this year, this has already given us a magical boost and a fast worldwide exposure, as we are already starting to receive requests from all around the world!