We all love how leather makes us stylish and chic, but most of it is exported. Wouldn’t it be nice to have one that is actually local and produced in Bahrain? You’d probably think that this only could happen in ones dream. However, Awatif Ali, one of the winners in the Youth Pioneer Society’s “Chance” 2017 program, turns this dream into reality: She introduces us to her Lather Tannery Factory, but with a twist! It’s environmentally friendly, so you guys don’t have to go through a moral dilemma or through cognitive dissonance about your purchase taking part in harming the environment.
According to Awatif, her project aims to encourage Bahraini women to enter the industrial field, create jobs and and provide people to gain new experiences, and most importantly attract foreign investments in leather tannery.
She also mentioned that the “Chance” program took part in supporting her business as it helped her study market needs and develop successful business plan to further develop her project. Additionally, the “Chance” allowed her to have individual meetings with experienced entrepreneurs where she discussed her project, the challenges and the solutions she can adopt to overcome them. And most importantly, they were trained on how to pitch their ideas to investors.
At the moment, two production lines will be opened for Lather Tannery Factory which will include small and large leathers, in addition to fur and wool. Awatif’s future plans include increasing the plants operational capacity where titanium will be used for special orders, in addition to manufacturing Bahraini leather products that will contain gelatin.