On another hand, the non-physical aspect, a more sustainable project affecting the residents was also introduced to induce socio-economic growth. Firstly, although the area is populated with one of the poorest inhabitants of Cairo community and family life remained strong. Small family businesses, including carpentry, tile making, and other small crafts, continued to provide a portion of the local population with a living. Those resources were utilized and amplified by the program introduced: training workshops were offered and some long lost crafts were re-introduced (such as arabesque wood carving techniques). The project also generated many working opportunities for instance the ayyubid wall restoration project was transformed into a mass employment opportunities as all the working force was hired from darb-al-ahmar and special training workshops were provided. The Carpentry skills were also utilized to produce furniture for the Al-Azhar park. The community as a whole was also involved in the preservation and maintenance of the park. Other apprenticeships were also arranged in the fields of computers, mobile phone services, automobile electronics, office skills and tourist market goods. And finally to complete the socio-economic development long term, micro-credits have been offered to more than 400 individuals to help evolve their businesses. The several programs were also offered to women, in fact in 2008 from the 159 individuals that attended the training session 59% were women.[6] The initiative of empowering women is a very innovative and positive aspect of this project. In fact, the impact of the Al-Azhar Park project will most certainly fulfill some of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set forth by the UN at the start of the 21st century. "the integrated project [realized] three of the MDGs: [?] the eradication of extreme poverty through the extension of micro-credit and employment generation; ensuring environmental sustainability through the rehabilitation, and raising the awareness, of cultural and natural assets; and finally, the promotion of global/local partnerships and networks by pooling the resources of contributors."[7]
