COMESA-Leather and Leather Products Institute, in collaboration with the Ministère Délégué Chargé du Commerce, des PME, du Tourisme et de la Formalisation and with financial support from the COMESA-RISM Program, held artisans training in Vegetable and Chrome Tanning at I.S.C.A.E. Institute, Djibouti from September 18 to 22, 2017.
The objective of the training was to offer knowledge and skills in vegetable and mineral tanning at artisanal level and thus change the situation where over the years and until now people are making leather products with unprocessed hides and skins.
The training was officially opened by Mr. Abdalah Tahir Hassan, Director of Artisans and Tourisme in the presence of Mr. Daher Youssouf and Mr. RobelehDjibril Sougal, both advisors of the Honorable Minister, Ministère Délégué Chargé du Commerce, des PME, du Tourisme et de la Formalisation.
The COMESA/LLPI Expert Team was led by Prof. Mekonnen Hailemarima, Institutional Capacity Developemnt and Consultancy Expert and composed of Mr. Harisson Ndungu and Mr. Amasi Chrispin, both highly qualified professionals in hides and skins tanning.
A total of 25 artisans drawn from the different parts of the country attended the training that provided them with basic skills to process hides and skins to crust leather using vegetable (mimosa powder) and mineral (basic chromium sulphate) tannins as tanning agents. The crust leather produced can make sandals and other simple leather products at that stage.
At the end of the training certificates were distributed to the trainees and feedbacks from the latter were very positive, confirming full attainment of the training objectives.