Local shoe-making in Bint Jbeil on the way to extinction after a peak in the seventies

An Nahar newspaper published a report about shoe confection in Bint Jbeil which has been a feature of this region since 1920 and reached its climax in the seventies.  This industry started to decline in the late nineties because of the security and economic conditions namely the Israeli occupation and the overall economic situation of Lebanon.  The report noted that large industrialists of the region set up 8 major factories in the eighties each of which employing 15 to 20 workers. Furthermore, some 85 smaller workshops existed and provided livelihoods to some 350 additional families.  As such, some 3500 pairs of shoes were produced daily and were marketed locally and in African and GCC countries including Kuwait.  This industry started declining in the nineties which led to the closure of many workshops.  This situation remained as such until the July 2006 war when the Israeli aggression destroyed the old souks that hosted most of the production units.  After the old souks were rebuilt, only 2 factories and 6 workshops reopened employing only 100 workers with a daily production of some 200 pairs which are seasonally marketed.
The report concluded by noting that those involved in this sector do not foresee a hopeful future and thus they agree that this trade is threatened with extinction. They added that supporting shoe-making is first their responsibility and that they should organize in a syndicate to demand their rights as well as improve their skills through training.  They also called for the creation of a cooperative which would facilitate the purchase of raw material at a lower price and without middlemen.  They also emphasized that the state has a responsibility to protect local production from foreign completion as well as find new external markets.
Source: Al-Nahar 24 October 2014