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The Risks Of Keeping The World鈥檚 Oldest Leather Tannery Alive | Still Standing | Business Insider - YouTube
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at the center of morocco's ancient city
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of fez sits a piece of history
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the shuwata leather tannery is the
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oldest in the world
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amid a multitude of colors and powerful
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odors
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tanners here transform animal hides into
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leather
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and their methods date back to the 11th
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century
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but the work is incredibly time
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consuming and labor-intensive
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but the tanning process that he loves
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relies on heavy chemicals that pose
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health hazards to him and his co-workers
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and some say they're no longer willing
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to take the risk
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so will this ancient craft continue to
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stand the test of time
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we visited morocco to find out how after
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more than a thousand years this craft is
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still standing
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these arches surrounding fez lead to its
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market's narrow paths
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to find the tannery all you have to do
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is follow your nose
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the scent of dead animal skin and feces
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fills the air at the souk
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a leather bazaar that houses the three
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biggest leather tanneries in the city
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that's
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sad for most the smell is unbearable
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local guides give tourists sprigs of
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mint to place under their nose when they
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visit
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but for a deal it's part of the
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tradition
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he works with goat and sheepskins that
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he buys from a nearby market and then
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starts the cleaning process
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a deal uses water to loosen any dirt or
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mud
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it also softens the skin making it
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easier to work with later
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the next day he transfers the hides to
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these large stone vets that hold natural
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acids and dyes
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he leaves the skin for two to three days
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in a solution made of chemicals
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salt water and cow urine
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it'll break down excess fat leftover
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flesh and hair
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but it's just as harsh on human skin and
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can cause serious injury
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who also worked in the tanneries tried
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to stop him from following the same path
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let's see
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how a deal stands in the mixture for
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hours a day plucking and scraping off
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any loose hair with his bare hands
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he wears waterproof pants but there's
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still a risk of severe chemical burns
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then he washes the hide three times
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until all the hair falls off
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this tanning technique dates back to the
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11th century
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the natural chemicals in the solution
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alter the protein structure of the hide
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a deal then moves the hides to the basin
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filled with a mixture of pigeon
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droppings and water they sit for two
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days to thin and stretch
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then he places them back into the phono
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machine for a final wash
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and drapes them along small balconies to
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dry for 48 hours
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traditional tanneries like this were
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common in fez and marrakesh
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in the 16th century workers used leather
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to make products like books shoes and
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clothes
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it quickly became one of the country's
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leading exports but tanneries during
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this time used extremely hazardous
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chemicals
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and many workers suffered from severe
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health conditions like cancer
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so in the 19th century the
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leather-making industry shifted away
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from traditional dangerous practices to
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more modern machines
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the few traditional tanneries that
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survived struggle to compete
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today a deal makes less than half the
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money he made when he started out
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despite that he says he can't see
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himself doing anything else
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in this small room he scrapes the hides
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to remove any leftover hairs or fibers
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this step has caused him severe pain
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and has taken a toll on his body over
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the years
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he continues until the hide is
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completely smooth
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when it's ready he brings the finished
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leather to craftsmen like muhammad
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al-helu
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salam
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muhammad has worked as a leather
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craftsman for over 20 years
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he separates the leather based on the
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type of skin
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and checks the quality to determine what
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product he can make from it
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is
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muhammad designs bags shoes and belts
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these handcrafted pieces can take up to
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a week to make
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more than half the population in fez
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works in crafts and merchandise
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making souvenirs and products and
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selling them to tourists
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but the pandemic brought tourism to a
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halt for two years
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and the economy hasn't fully recovered
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since
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knows how difficult this craft is
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but he doesn't believe traditional
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tanning should end
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instead he hopes conditions will improve
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for the next generation of tanners
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