Summary
Shoemaking is returning in Mosul, Iraq, after years of conflict. Craftsmen like Saad Abdul Aal are rebuilding their businesses with help from international grants. The industry, once almost gone, is trying to revive despite facing challenges from cheaper, imported shoes.
Key Facts
- Shoemaking in Mosul, Iraq, was traditionally a strong industry, linked to the country's history for over 1,000 years.
- The city of Mosul had more than 50 shoemaking factories before the upheaval caused by ISIS in 2014.
- ISIS seized Mosul in 2014, causing many workshops to be destroyed, looted, or abandoned.
- By the war's end, fewer than 10 shoemaking factories remained operational in Mosul.
- The revival is bolstered by the International Organization for Migration's Enterprise Development Fund, which offers grants and training to craftsmen.
- Saad Abdul Aal, a shoemaker, benefited from these grants and reopened his workshop, now producing about four pairs of shoes per day.
- Iraqi shoemakers face tough competition from cheap imported shoes, but emphasize the superior quality of their products, made from genuine leather.
