Yash Leather

We are tucked away in Lane 13 over at Pawar House, right near Gold Field Plaza in the Bliss Compound. Being in Dharavi, things are always moving fast. We work with leather mostly. It’s a bit of a maze getting here if you aren't used to the area, but once you find the compound, we are right there. The workshop gets pretty loud with the machines running and the smell of leather is everywhere. It’s been our daily life for years now. We started small and just kept going. The space is a bit tight with all the scraps and finished pieces laying around. We don't really have a showroom, it’s more of a place where things get made. Sometimes the floor is covered in offcuts. We just focus on the work at hand. People come by to see what we’re cutting or stitching. It's dusty and messy but that’s the reality of working with hides. My cousin helps out when things get busy. We drink a lot of tea while we work. The neighborhood is full of people doing the same kind of stuff, so we help each other out if a machine breaks down or we run out of thread. It’s not glamorous at all. We just show up, do the stitching, and try to get things done on time. It’s hard work on the hands. The walk from the main road can be a bit dusty, especially during the dry season. We keep a fan going all day to move the air around.