Cairo and Alexandria, Egypt. A project for Shell, looking into the lives of independent car mechanics and their workshops. We witnessed entrepreneurial business owners, pushing ahead to make a success for themselves, within a country held back from growth in the aftermath of 2011's revolution. Hours are extremely long, with most workshops operating till midnight, six days a week. Standards of living are low and it's a basic requirement to keep working to make basic ends meet.
The life of these workshops exists out on the street. Most work on the cars happens on the road side. Whilst the vehicles are fixed, customers hang about, chatting with workers and other locals passing by. The business is a fluid part of the community, for both young and old. Many of the workshop owners employ their sons in the business. And local school kids are often part of the scene, collecting water or learning to fix cars themselves. It was a fascinating insight into how business can be an integral part of local community life.
