In Deep Shit @ Fes Tannery, Morocco  |
Fez, the third largest city in Morocco, is home to the
world’s oldest tanneries. These tanneries still follow the same techniques that
were used during the 11th Century for converting hide into leather, resulting
in attracting thousands of tourists every year from all over the world, who
want to witness this centuries old procedure.
The tanneries are one of the most colourful sites in this
“Land of Contrasts”, consisting of hundreds of stone vessels which are
filled with natural dyes resembling no less than a well laid tray of
watercolors – red (poppy flowers), blue (indigo), green (mint), yellow
(saffron), orange (henna), brown (wood) and black. Being a lover of colours
and life, I detested the idea of visiting the tanneries just after Eid, when
most of the workers were still on their fortnight long vacation, leaving the
tanneries pale and motionless. But it was today or never, so I chose the
former.
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| When the work is in full swing, each of these stone vessels are filled up with different colour dyes (red, blue, green, orange, yellow, black etc). All we saw were shades of mustard and brown, given that most tanners were on leave owing to Eid. |
Given that it was my first visit to a tannery, I requested one
of the workers to walk me through the process, which he happily did. He
explained, "tanneries basically process skins of animals and convert them
into leather, which is used for making products such as bags, jackets, shoes,
belts, wallets, furniture etc". But it wasn't as straightforward, unsoiled
and uncomplicated as it sounds. So for all who love those expensive leather
products, I thought of giving you an insight of the entire procedure
myself.
Animal skins (including camels, sheep, cows and goats etc) are first soaked for 2 to 3 days in a mixture of water, cow urine, salt and quicklime to help remove flesh and the still remaining tough hair. Yes you read it right - Cow Urine! This mixture helps in softening the hide. Once the hide becomes a bit soft, the tanners scrap away the hair and flesh. The hide is again soaked, this time in a concoction of water and pigeon droppings (contains high amount of ammonia), which further makes the skin malleable.
Post dipping the hides in water and pigeon droppings, its now the tanners turn
to get their feet dirty. The tanners, get into the stone vessels filled with
this mixture and knead the hides with their bare feet to achieve the desired
softness.
Stench of decomposing flesh, cow urine and pigeon
droppings filled the air, making it unbearable for me to stand there
any-longer. One of the tanner had been closely observing my unpleasant facial
expressions and efforts to block the stink by closing my nostrils with hands.
He walked up and gave me some fresh mint leaves to smell to counter the
malodour.
While I was a bit relieved, this young guy in his early twenties before
returning to his job, exclaimed "I
know its difficult to breath here, but this gets my daily bread!" and
proudly folded his trousers up to the thighs and jumped into one of the stone
vessel filled waist deep with
pigeon shit and started kneading the hides. I looked at him silently. Never in
life I felt so small, and surely his views were much wider than mine!
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| Man washes the hides before drying them under the sun
Once the hides attain the desired softness, they are dipped in dyes and dried under the sun. The leather is now ready to be sold to the craftsmen who convert them into those luxurious accessories.
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| Hundreds of hide dry in the sun, ready to be sold to craftsmen for making the final products. |
All images © Pooja Kumar, 2014, email: poojakumar06@gmail.com
