by yoni » Sat May 10, 2003 5:45 am
Good questions, Mbalax, wish I could answer in detail. I do know the skins are never tanned, as in leather making. I see goatskins left piled with lots of salt on them for a while, dont know for how long. Hair is removed by three different ways I know of - shaving, and/or applying a chemical they call here "sid", a kind of whitewash paint or undercoat for house paint (I forget the word in English), and some people burn the hair off, but I'm not sure exactly how. There's a guy in a valley near me who now has some goatskins curing in salt, I want to buy one from him, I'll try to get back with the preparing details as well, if it might help.