Red Pyramid is helping to fight poverty in Egypt

 

Cairo's other pyramids emerge

 

By Rebecca Bundhun

If you follow the Nile south of the smog of Cairo, and drive on for about 40km past the occasional donkey and herd of goats before heading west out into the desert, two large pyramids eventually come into view.

These are a long way from the famous Pyramids of Giza, which are right on the edge of Cairo, have a KFC and Pizza Hut on their doorstep, and attract millions of tourists each year.

Still, some 100,000 visitors make the journey annually to the Red Pyramid and the Bent Pyramid, more than an hour from the city. Most only spend a couple of hours at the site before returning to Cairo.

But now all that could change with a multimillion-dollar eco-lodge and sustainable tourism project to try to get tourists to spend more time and money in the rural villages in Dahshur. This will help to reduce poverty in the communities through training the locals to work in the tourism sector. The plan is supported by the United Nations and Egypt's government.

Efforts are already under way as part of a US$3 million (Dh11m) programme that was funded by the UN-Spain Millennium Development Goals Achievement Fund to train locals in hospitality and teach them English.

Click to read more.

Click to read about the MDG-F's work in Egypt.

Click to read other success stories from the MDG-F's work to fight poverty and improve livelihoods around the world.

 

 

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