SDA Tannery

We are located at Plot No. 783 in Zone 9 of the Calcutta Leather Complex. It is a massive place, and if you aren’t careful, you can get lost in all the different zones. South 24 Parganas is quite a distance from the main city, so it’s a bit of a commute for some of us. At SDA Tannery, the work is heavy and often messy. Dealing with leather is not a clean job, but it is what we do every day. The air in the complex has a very specific smell that you never really get used to, but you stop noticing it after a few hours. We spend a lot of time on our feet, moving hides and checking the vats. The equipment is old but reliable, and we spend a lot of time maintaining it. It gets very humid here, especially during the monsoon months. The plot is quite large, so there’s a lot of walking back and forth between the storage area and the processing floor. We eat our lunch together in a small corner that we try to keep clear of the dust. There aren't many frills here. It’s all about the raw material and getting it ready. We’ve been part of this leather complex for years. It’s hard labor, and by the end of the day, everyone is pretty tired. We just lock up and head home to start again tomorrow. That's just the way it is.