Today Egyptians stood in line for hours to vote in the first real, competitive presidential election in the country’s history. And our favorite bakery, the only one in Egypt to recycle their own packaging into attractive notebooks, bookmarks and other stationary, is encouraging voters to play a role in the future of their homeland. As part of their “I Got Ink” campaign, all six Cairo branches of The Bakery Store are offering free baked goods to anyone who shows up with a bright purple index finger indicating that they have indeed cast their historic vote.
TBS has branches in Maadi, City View, Zamalek, Korba, Mohandessin, Nile Tower, Diplomats 3 and at the American University of Cairo and each one is putting their full weight behind Egypt’s historic moment.
It doesn’t matter where each vote goes; it only matters that Egyptians participate in the historic moment that they brought about through last year’s revolution and the ensuing battle to keep military powers in check. It has been a long and bloody road and many challenges lie ahead, but the two day elections so far have gone without any serious hitches.
There are 50 million eligible voters in Egypt. If every one of them casts a vote and claims their free baked goods, TBS will go bankrupt and the World Bank will have to bail them out. Ok, so maybe that’s unlikely to happen, but the store with sugary delights “so fresh it’s baked in front of you” does want to encourage the Egyptian people to actively engage in one of their proudest moments.
Voting in the first genuine presidential election in Egypt is as memorable to TBS as the first nobel prize awarded to Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz, who fearlessly criticized the status quo that has crippled the country for decades. And it is as proud as the moment women led a street demonstration in the 1919 revolution that eventually culminated in Egypt’s independence from Britain.
The “I Got Ink” campaign continues through the end of tomorrow, until the last man or woman has cast their vote on the second day of Egypt’s presidential elections.
So if you haven’t already dyed your finger, do it tomorrow, and get yourself a nice treat as a reward.
More Eco-Friendly Establishments in Egypt:
Interview With Egyptian Eco-Designer Nadia Nour
Ana Seco Teaches Her Grandmother’s Eco-Fashion Techniques
Egypt May Survive Climate Change Thanks to AUC Students
Author: Tafline Laylin
As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
i came up with a theory that involves the book of genesis (fig leaves) buddha (sitting under the bodhi fig tree) jesus (many sayings about figs) ross hornes’ book (new health revolution) and science (figs are the most important source of food for fruit eating rainforest animals). i then experimented on the figs by eating mainly dried figs (same brand) for over 10 years now and found cycles which i related to the numbers in psgs 11/12 of the book of revelations. this theory has gone everywhere. so far i have had eliminations at days 504, 840, 1176, 1512, 1848, 2184, 2520, 2856, 3192 and 3528. today is day 3721. i have definitely found something. i am not lying. what i have discovered has gone around the world and many songs have been written about it……the foo fighters’ last 4 albums…….coldplays’ last 4 albums…….”vertigo” by U2 (my first name is phil). an elimination is a day when you experience strong flu-like symptoms and feel terrible. bad stuff is washed out of your body.
greetings from tasmania……..google figbat oswald and see if you can work it out.