On the street outside Ali Althwene Carpentry, Gasam Mohammed, 45, stands in the sun rubbing sunflower oil into carefully cut pieces of wood. Sawdust drifts out of the shop’s open doors, falling around him gently on the street. With eleven years at the business, Gasam’s work there has been steady, allowing him to provide a good life for his wife and six children.
Ali Hamdi Tawfiq established Ali Althwene Carpentry after working as a carpenter for twenty years. He started out alone, with just a single piece of machinery. After years of local commissions, he grew to six employees and found stable footing in the market.
But eventually, after more than a decade of making the same furniture designs, Ali had grown uninspired. He didn’t look forward to his work in the same way, or see a path growing the business. But everything changed when Ali received a $25,000 EDF grant in 2021.
“Before the grant, I didn’t have any inspiration to create new designs,” he said. “I was limited by the tools I had.” Ali came alive as he described the renaissance he experienced after his new machines arrived.
“I was inspired to make these designs and to share them with the community on social media, and since then we’ve had a lot of new business,” he said.
One of Ali’s recent designs, a new kitchen line, has been particularly popular in the community. To fulfill the increased orders, Ali Althwene Carpentry sources their raw materials from Kirkuk and Erbil, generating more business for the other Iraqi factories that provide goods and services the carpenters need to do their jobs.
Moder Nasat, 23, worked at Ali Althwene Carpentry for two years. In that time, he went from novice to proficient carpenter. He also brought social media savvy to the business, helping Tawfiq set up Facebook and Instagram pages to promote their products. @carpentrytikrit now has 3,000 followers.
