Lucky Leather Finishers

Being over here in Jajmau on Idgah Road means there is always that smell of leather in the air. It’s part of the neighborhood really. Our place at 28/74 A. B. C. isn't hard to find if you know the road. We spend our time working on the hides, getting the finish just right before they go out. It’s messy work. Your hands get stained and stay that way for a few days. The fans are always running to help things dry but in the monsoon it takes forever. We have a lot of racks where the leather hangs. Some days the humidity makes everything feel heavy. We see the same faces every day, mostly the guys from the other workshops or the drivers. Lunch is usually brought from home and eaten quick so we can get back to it. The machinery is old but we know how to fix it when it acts up. There’s a lot of heavy lifting moving the rolls around. It’s a loud place when everything is running at once. We don't really have a front office, just a small space with a table where we keep the books. Most of the time we are just out on the floor. It gets pretty dusty with the scraps and the chemicals. You just put your head down and do the job until it's time to lock up.