Egyptian village lives off peeling shrimp

Shakshok is a village located on the outskirts of the Fayoum governorate, south of the Egyptian capital, Cairo. The residents live below the poverty line due to problems that nearby Lake Qaroun has suffered.

For decades, the village had been living off fishing before pollution caused a loss of fish. This led to the emigration of most of the men to other provinces, in search of a livelihood.

In recent years, many of the local women have worked peeling shrimp before packaging it in bags in exchange for a little money.

The shrimp shells are also used as poultry feed, but sometimes they are dried on roofs and sold as agricultural fertiliser or for other purposes. They are also used in industries including pharmaceuticals and plastics.

According to some of the village’s women, the shrimp come from several places, mostly Cairo’s El-Obour market, as well as some coastal provinces such as Port Said and Kafr El-Sheikh.

Source: Aljazeera.net (Original Content -Arabic)