Parvez Shoes Pvt. Ltd.

Our factory, Parvez Shoes Pvt. Ltd., sits inside the Indian Tanning Compound off 150 Feet road in Jajmau. If you’ve been to Jajmau, you know it’s the heart of the shoe industry here. The air always has that heavy scent of tanned leather. It’s an industrial area, so there are trucks moving in and out at all hours. Our building isn't anything special to look at. It's a big practical space where we cut leather and stitch soles. We have a lot of workers who have been with us for a decade or more. They know the machines better than I do. The 150 Feet road is usually dusty and the traffic can be a nightmare in the evenings. We spend our days making sure the production line doesn't stop. Sometimes a machine breaks down and we all have to pitch in to fix it. It's a lot of manual labor. We don't have a fancy showroom. Most of our shoes go straight into boxes and onto trucks. My grandfather started in leather, and we just kept going with shoes. It’s hard work and the days are long. We usually eat lunch together in the small break area. There isn't much quiet here, but we like the rhythm of the work. It’s just how things are in the compound. We just focus on making shoes that actually last a while.