Dordogne ready to spend money on boosting leather value chain
03/05/2013
Underpinning the project is the idea that the Dordogne, in the south-west of the country, has livestock farming, slaughterhouses, tanning and leathergoods manufacture on its own doorstep and that all players along that chain should favour local suppliers and local customers.
Money will, therefore, be spent on educating livestock farmers on steps they can take to avoid damage to cattle hides before slaughter, with practical projects to remove barbed wire from farms also featuring.
Abattoir operatives will receive training in how best to avoid damage to the hide while preparing slaughtered cattle for the meat market and extra hide storage facilities will be built at abattoirs in Thiviers, Ribérac and, especially for calf hides, at the dedicated Sobeval abattoir in Boulazac.
Important users of raw material and finished leather in the region, including the Chamont tannery at Saint-Pardoux-la-Rivière and, on the finished products side, luxury leathergoods brand Hermès and high-end footwear manufacturer Repetto, both of whom carry out production in the Dordogne, will be encouraged to make use of locally sourced material.
Further to this, the Rural Excellence Hub will organise a public celebration of the leather value chain in different towns around the region over the course of the project, beginning in the autumn of 2013 in Nontron. As part of a two-day event, with September 28 and 29 the likely dates, the organisers will put on demonstrations of artisan skills, hold conference sessions and exhibitions of leather products.
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