Tanneries

What it is

In a tannery, raw hides are made into leather. Morocco has a long tradition in leatherwork, and the word maroquinerie still denotes the production of fine, dyed leather and its working, especially into bookbindings.¹ The leather from Chouara is made into babouches (slippers), bags, purses and belts.² According to the Maison de l’Artisan, the name maroquinerie goes back to the reputation of Moroccan leatherwork; its products include seat cushions (poufs), desk pads, saddles and leather-covered furniture.³

Where it comes from

The most active historic tanneries of Fez include Sidi Moussa in Garnīz, which dates back at least to the 12th century, Chouara in the Lablida quarter near the Bin Lamdoun bridge, Ain Azliten from the 18th century and Rahbat at-Tben in the al-Qalqliyyin quarter.⁴ There are also old tanneries in Rabat (Diour Dbagh), Marrakesh, Tetouan and Beni Mellal.⁵ Archnet counts Chouara among the three tanneries of Fez; it lies by the river near the Saffarin madrasa and has worked there since the early days of the city.⁶ Fez was founded between 789 and 808 by the Idrisids and flourished in the 13th and 14th centuries under the Marinids; the medina has been a World Heritage Site since 1981 and retains most of its original functions and trades.⁷

History

According to tradition, tanning in Fez is said to have begun under Idris II (died 828), but this is not documented.⁸ A census by the Almohad makhzen, the state administration, counted 86 tanneries, from the small workshop to the large enterprise.⁹

What it is made of

For tanning, many ingredients were crushed in mills: the bark of pomegranate, cork oak or mimosa, alum, potter’s clay, ash, rock salt, slaked or quicklime, a solution of pigeon droppings, wheat bran, tamarisk galls and preserved figs.¹⁰ In Chouara roses dye the leather red, cedarwood brown and saffron yellow; the saffron-yellow leather is used above all for the babouches called ziwania.¹¹

How it is made

In Chouara the raw hides come from the Ain Nokbi market; they lie for up to two weeks in a mixture of lime and pigeon droppings and are moved regularly so that they soften and remnants of tissue come away.¹² Then they are dyed in vats, dried around the tannery and passed on to the craftsmen.¹³ Archnet describes the pits as a grid of round stone basins; the whitish liquid for softening the raw hides consists, it says, of cow urine, pigeon droppings, quicklime, salt and water, while other basins hold dye.¹⁴

The tanneries of Fez have lime-plastered pits (al-mjayar), basins of clear water (sahrij), which in Chouara are up to three metres long, and basins of running water (markal) for rinsing the sheep and goat hides; in addition there are hemispherical vats (qasriya) that hold 30 to 60 hides.¹⁵ A tannery therefore needs plenty of water from pipes, springs or wells.¹⁶

How to recognise it

The labelling strategy of the Ministry of Handicrafts provides for an “Eco Tannage” label, intended as the first label for responsible craftsmanship (“artisan responsable”).¹⁷ For babouches, according to the Ministry, binding standards apply.¹⁸