Morocco is one of the most fascinating countries I’ve visited to date. From its delicious Mediterranean cuisine and its vast deserts to its vibrant night markets, Morocco has something for everyone. As a photographer, I visited Morocco for street photography. My stay consisted of visiting Marrakesh, Casablanca, and Fes. With over nine thousand little alleyways in one of the oldest Medinas in Morocco, Fes was my favorite city by far.
Some of the most visited sites in Fes are its leather tanneries. Leather tanneries in Fes date back to as far as the 11th century. There are three main tanneries, the most famous one be the Chouara tannery because of its sheer size. These tanneries consist of hundreds of tubs filled with natural dyes. As for the leathers they produce, they typically come from cow, sheep, goat, and camel hides.
Now, these aren’t the only tanneries in Fes. Walking the alleyways I was able to find one more tannery, the Gueliz tannery, hidden in the Medina amongst the local shops. Knowing only its name it took me a while to actually find it on google maps or even any information about it. Unless you know the name and write it in the search bar, you will never see this place marked up on the maps. The only way to actually find this place is by walking the streets.
Being over six-hundred years old, the Gueliz tannery is run by both the Berber and Arabs. This is an important thing to mention since the larger tanneries are only ran by Arabs. Now the key difference between these two are that, Berber ran tanneries also work with the distribution of wool from animals such as sheep unlike the Arab ran tanneries which only deal with the skins of animals. This means that when the skins arrive from the slaughter houses, Berber people shed the wool and sell it to locals who use it for their products. The other tanneries don’t do this.
Most tanneries in fes have had the same process of tanning leather hides since the 11th century. When the hides arrive to the tannery, the first thing that occurs is the cleaning of them. They are placed in the tubs where a mixture of cow urine, quicklime, water and salt break down the hide and loosen excess fat, flesh and hair. Once the tanners scrape off anything left, they are placed on the roof to dry. This typically takes two to three days.
Once the hides are cleaned, they are placed into a vessel containing water and pigeon poop. For those that are unaware, pigeon poop contains ammonia which softens the hide and prepares it for the dyeing process. It bites into the skin and makes the skin supple. Now, did you know that morocco has hundred of these farms where they have pigeons and basically everyday collect their poop and sell it to the major tanneries. As for the smaller ones like the Gueliz tannery, they pick their own from the gutters and rooftops of fes. Its a lot cheaper that way. But, lets get back to the process. Tanners are in the tubs with their bare feet and are constantly kneading the skins for up to three hours. This allows the skins to reach their desired softness. If you’re ever in one of these tanneries to experience this yourself, you will see and think this work is easy for them, that they do it like pros. But in reality, they feel a massive burning sensation. Of course over the years their skin adapts to it.
The next phase of the process includes tubs filled with different natural vegetable dyes. For example, poppy flowers for red dye, indigo for blue, mint for green, cedar wood for brown, and the most expensive one, saffron for yellow. Once the leather is dyes, it is again placed on roofs to dry. The leather is then sold to local craftsmen to create wallets, bags, jackets, and belts. All of these products are made locally with manual labor and no machinery.
Now, you might be surprised to learn that tanners who are beginners typically earns just $2 a day while experienced ones earn almost $5 a day. The pay is very low compared to other countries and considering their work environment. These guys work in some of the worst conditions, in the scorching heat, and risk their health everyday. But at the end of the day, that’s their source of income. Most don’t get to choose what they want to do when they grow up. Most guys follow their fathers and grandfathers, from generation to generation. Now theres something to think about the next time you go buying leather products.
- Piotr Kuzniar