Casey Palmer, Contradictions of Chouara (DOCO 2022)

I had mixed feelings when I visited Chouara Tannery in Fez, Morocco. While I deeply respect the history and the importance of this enduring enterprise, there is more to the story, and visitors rarely touch on it. They wave a sprig of mint to mask the smell wafting up from the honeycomb of vats and move on. But for the labourers, the work is long, hard and more dangerous than before with the use of modern chemicals in the concoctions in which they stand waist deep. The chemicals and the offcuts clog local waterways, dividing local opinion on this traditional art.

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