Lebanon's economic crisis revives demand for craftsmen

Inflation and depreciating Lebanese pound keep earnings low

Among meandering alleyways in the historic market of Lebanon's southern city of Sidon, cobblers and menders are doing brisk business, as an economic crisis revives demand for once fading trades. All photos: AFP

At Ahmed al-Bizri's shoe repair store, workers are busy adjusting a woman's sandals and replacing the worn-out sole of a man's shoe

Bizri said their work 'has increased 60 per cent' since the crisis began, adding that people now prefer to spend up to one million Lebanese pounds (around $11 on parallel markets) to fix old shoes rather than buy new ones

Since late 2019, Lebanon has been in a state of economic collapse that the World Bank says is one of the worst in modern times

Cobbler Walid al-Suri, 58, repairs a shoe in his shop in the Lebanese coastal city of Sidon on July 11, 2023. in the coastal city of Sidon on July 11, 2023. Among meandering alleyways in the historic market of Lebanon's southern city of Sidon, cobblers and menders are doing brisk business, as an economic crisis revives demand for once fading trades. (Photo by JOSEPH EID / AFP)

Suri said, 'We pay for everything in dollars, not in Lebanese pounds.' For that, he said he earns about $11, hardly enough to cover the basic needs of his family of three

In 2022, inflation averaged 171 per cent, according to the World Bank - one of the highest rates worldwide

Tailor Mohammed Muazzin, who has been a tailor for four decades, said: 'People used to buy trousers, wear them a few times and then get rid of them. Today, they give them to their brother or another relative'

Even though he has up to 70 clients a day, he said that before the crisis 'our earnings were higher'

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