Leather tanning workshop in Dordogne (24)

Activity description :

Join us in the Dordogne, in a wilderness setting, to try your hand at hide tanning. In just one day, and as simply as possible, you'll learn the correct techniques and traditional methods of tanning, just as in the days when the value of a killed animal was total.

Tanning is the process of transforming hides into leather using tannins, substances of various kinds (vegetable, mineral or combined) that transform putrescible hides into rot-proof leather.

Course of the activity (1 day) :

• 9 a.m.: welcome participants at the meeting point, presentation of the tanning workshop, then departure for the course site.
• Arrival at the tanning site, distribution of tasks - skinning, degreasing and drying.
• Making a wooden frame (brelage).
• Lunch break and relaxation (1h, lunch not provided)
• Framing and drying hides
• Construction of a smokehouse
• Fur removal (if possible) and tanning with brains or other process
• Smoking using the smokehouse created earlier in the day
• 6pm: end of workshop

The day won't be enough to understand and correctly perform excellent tanning. Nevertheless, you'll learn the rudiments and tricks of the trade so you can reproduce the right gestures at home, on your own, and respect the drying times required to produce good leather.

A day of friendly exchange in peaceful countryside surroundings. Ideal for sharing experiences and impressions.