Nawaya

19/05/2026

موسم البامية بدأ 🌿
من زمان، وعلى امتداد النيل، كانت البامية جزء من أكلنا وحكايات مطابخنا اليومية. من الحصاد لحد الطبخة، لكل خطوة طقس صغير بيحمل ذاكرة وتراث متوارث بين الأجيال. في مطبخ نوايا المجتمعي، موسم البامية دايمًا بيفكرنا إن الأكل مش مجرد وصفة، لكنه قصة أرض، ومواسم، وأيادي بتزرع وتطبخ وتشارك.

Okra stew recipes from Upper Egypt that pay close attention to the getting the texture right.

09/05/2026

Asal we tehina 😋
Asal Aswad is delicious, but it is not easy to eat alone, hence the famous Egyptian comfort food: asal we tehina (molasses and sesame paste).
Honey not made by bees - Asal Aswed - in Arabic black honey - is a sweet thick syrup which is a permanent feature in Egyptian kitchens.

Credits:
Curator: Laura Tabet
Research: Bianca Fliss
Photography: Bianca Fliss, Nada Elissa

In Upper Egypt, a special molasses satisfies all Egyptians sweet cravings.

10/04/2026

Flowers are more than beauty in the field, they are a living part of resilient farming systems.
In agroecology, flowering plants help build a “food forest” that supports biodiversity, strengthens ecosystems, and protects crops naturally.

They play a key role in natural pest management by attracting beneficial insects like ladybugs, lacewings, and parasitic wasps, all of which help control harmful pests such as aphids and caterpillars, reducing the need for chemical pesticides.
Flowers also support pollinators like bees, butterflies, and birds by providing nectar and pollen, which directly improves pollination, crop yield, and seed production.

By increasing insect diversity, flowering plants create a more balanced and stable ecosystem, one that is more resilient to environmental stress and climate change.
At the heart of it, flowers are not just part of the farm, they are part of its defense, its balance, and its future.

26/03/2026

وسط التراب والأمطار والعواصف اللي كلنا بنتكلم عنها اليومين دول وكل اللي نعرفه بس ان دا لاننا في الربيع، بالنسبة للفلاح دا مش مجرد موسم الربيع دا تحديدا شهر برمهات واللي بيبدأ من 10 مارس حتى 8 أبريل.
برمهات أحد الشهور القبطية واللي بنعتبره شهر الخير علينا حيث انه بيحصل فيه التلقيح وكمان بيكون فيه وفرة من المحاصيل الجاهزة للحصاد زي البسلة والفول والحلبة والكتان والبصل وخاصة كمان البصل الأخضر. عشان كدة فيه مثل قبطي تقليدي بيقول للفلاحين (روح الغيط وهات). شهر برمهات اتسمى كدة نسبة إلى ملك العصر الذهبي "امنمحات" ودا شهر مليان بالعواصف والأتربة خاصة نصفه الاول زي ما احنا شايفين كدة طبعا.

21/03/2026

On Mother’s Day, we’d like to share the story of Ghada, one of the mothers in the Nawaya Community Kitchen.

The kitchen team first came together through a series of awareness videos about nutrition, shared with women from villages in El-Badrashin. Later on, some of these women began hosting small screenings in different villages, helping raise awareness about nutrition and rural food heritage.

Ghada was one of the women who attended these screenings. She started applying what she learned at home, especially with her children. At the time, her young daughter was suffering from rheumatism and was receiving regular penicillin injections, with doctors expecting this to continue until she turned 18.

But as Ghada gradually changed the family’s eating habits, her daughter’s health began to improve. Within two years, she was able to stop the injections, and her condition became much better, before she turned 16!

A mother is the foundation of a family’s nutrition—and sometimes, all she needs is the right knowledge to make a life-changing difference.

Happy Mother’s Day to every mother making a difference, one meal at a time 💛

20/03/2026

عيد سعيد وإجازة هادية 🌱

08/03/2026

At Nawaya, for international women’s day, we celebrate the role of women at the heart of our food systems, nurturing and nourishing local communities all over the world.

Preserving and sharing traditional knowledge, recipes, seeds and breeds, women’s role is undeniable to keep the community spirit, to save our heritage, identity and culture. When women have rights and a real say in what should be produced and how it will be distributed, women will always put their communities first.

In a world constantly divided by wars and a fight over local resources - we keep hope for a future where women have a say in food system governance. We continue to support the women of our community kitchen as a seed to grow more solidarity, more sustainability, more dignity to rural villages and a future for next generations where they inherit a food system that is healthy, local and biodiverse; That is full of opportunity.

Happy Women’s Day to every woman reading this. We see you, we appreciate you, and we’re proud of ourselves too — women showing up every day still choosing to care, to build community and to give us hope for a future that sustains life.

26/02/2026

🌽 هل الذرة الصفراء اللي بنشوفها النهارده هي “ذرة أجدادنا”؟
الإجابة ببساطة: لا.
الذرة اللي بنشوفها دلوقتي ومعروفة بالذرة الصفرا أصلها من أمريكا، ووصلت لمصر بعد القرن الـ16. يعني ما كانتش موجودة في مصر القديمة.
المحاصيل الحبوبية اللي كانت موجودة في مصر القديمة:
🌾 القمح القديم (غير اللي بناكله دلوقتي برضوا)
🌾 الشعير
🌾 والذرة الرفيعة (السورجم)
الذرة الرفيعة تحديدًا محصول أفريقي قديم، بتتأقلم مع الحرارة والجفاف، وبذورها كانت بتتحفظ وتتوارث جيل بعد جيل.
الموضوع مش مقارنة بين “قديم” و”حديث”…
هو ببساطة سؤال عن السيادة على البذور 🌱
وهل نقدر نحافظ على سلالاتنا المحلية زي ما حافظ أجدادنا عليها؟

24/02/2026

Chamomile is harvested during the winter and spring seasons in Fayoum and Beni Suef, where the climate and soil conditions are especially suitable for its cultivation. The plant thrives in mild temperatures and well-drained soil, making these regions important centers for chamomile production in Egypt.

Chamomile is a flowering plant native to Europe, Northwest Asia, and North Africa. It was first documented in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics as a key ingredient in embalming oils and cosmetics, valued for its fragrance and soothing qualities. Throughout history, chamomile has held an important place in traditional medicine and cultural practices. It was included in ancient Anglo-Saxon texts as one of the “Nine Sacred Herbs,” and it was widely used by the Romans, Spaniards, Anglo-Saxons, and Norse peoples in herbal brews, infusions, incense, medicinal remedies, and even shampoos.

Known for its anti-inflammatory and calming properties, chamomile has long been applied topically to soothe irritated skin. It is commonly used as a compress to reduce swelling and help combat mild bacterial infections. When consumed as a tea or infusion, chamomile is associated with a variety of traditional health benefits, including easing stomach discomfort, supporting sleep, relieving chest irritations, and rve shown that chamomile extracts can reduce the viability of certain human cancer cell lines and induce apoptosis (programmed cell death) in cancer cells, while not affecting normal cells at similar concentrations. However, these findings are preliminary and require further clinical research before definitive conclusions can be made.

Today, chamomile continues to bridge ancient knowledge and contemporary research, remaining one of the most widely used and culturally significant medicinal plants in the world.

نبات البابونج (كاموميل) تعود اصوله إلى اوروبا وشمال غرب اسيا وشمال افريقيا، وذكر في الهيروغليفية المصرية كمكون في زيوت التحنيط ومستحضرات التجميل. واسخدمته حضارات عديدة كمشروب عشبي لتهدئة المعدة والاسترخاء. دا غير إن هناك بعض الاكتشافات بتوضح تأثيره على الخلايا المسرطنة لكن لسة في مرحلة التجارب.

21/02/2026

مع شريكنا المحلي مزرعة الصراط بنقدر نستضيف ونظم فعاليات متنوعة تشمل الطبخ والأكل والطبيعة والحيوانات والهدوء مساحة بنقدر نتجمع فيها سوا احنا وعيلتنا واصحابنا عشان نستمتع بأكلة حلوة ووقت نقدر نشم فيه نفسنا ونستمتع بالتنوع البيئي بعيد عن صخب المدينة وبينا وبين القاهرة 40 دقيقة فقط يعني سهل اي يوم ناخد مساحة لنفسنا من الزحمة ونرجع نكمل تاني واحنا اهدى واروق، قضوا وقت لطيف مع عيلتكم واصحابكم واحجزوا معانا قبلها بـ 24 ساعة على الأقل علشان نقدر ننظم ليكم تجربة وإفطار رمضاني لذيذ🌿🧘🏻🍲

19/02/2026

صوما مقبولاً وإفطارا شهيا 🍽️🌱