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Vegetable Tanning

Vegetable tanning is the traditional tanning method. This involves two types of tanning—bag tanning and pit tanning. In bag tanning, the carcass is sewn together into a bag and then tanned with amla (Indian gooseberry) or babool (Acacia Nilotica) or myrobalan bark. This is done by filling the bag with the tannin solution and hanging it up for several days so that the solution gets absorbed. In pit tanning, the open hide is soaked in pits and tanned with the same vegetable substance. Traditional vegetable tanning is highly labour intensive and involves hard manual work in extremely difficult working conditions.

The tanned leather made through either the bag tanning or pit tanning processes is tough, reddish in colour and is used for special products such as saddles and harnesses for horses, sports goods and shoe soles.