Sustainable Harness

16/06/2024

The guy liked the first sheath, this is the second, a two knife version. Bit tight yet on the blades, but that will soon ease off.

02/06/2024

Never made a 3 knife sheath before, don't have the 3rd knife but it's the same as the yellow handle one.

15/05/2023

Kind of sad that quality is hard to find, rigid pool que case, didn't get a finished photo, but the handle was a nylon strap, with unsealed ends that had frayed and come away from the single row of ordinary cotton machine sewing. Replaced the nylon with leather, reinforced the really thin vinyl, hand stitched through and added rivets, that should last a while, but the vinyl will tear at some stage. The case looks lovely, but doubt it was ever made to last more than a few years. So, in this globally warmed world, where we are all trying to recycle, save pollution, we still get sold crap, and don't get me started on all the plastic packaging that still surrounds everything we buy.

26/04/2023

One of the things I love about leatherwork is the variety and challenges. Was asked to make a flag pole holder, the pictures on line show a cone for the pole to sit in, well that's not much use if you want to lift it out whilst marching, the pole will be stuck in the cone. Long time since I stitched a cup, but fairly happy with the result

07/04/2023

07/04/2023

Finally getting round to taking some photos of current work!
Bullet box and secateurs case, made to measure for a customer

27/11/2022

It's funny because it's true 🤣

21/09/2020

You know what, there really is only 24 hours in a day! Busy in the workshop with repairs and sandal making, busy on my circle of trust page, trying to get money out to guys in Africa who we know are doing good work but who cannot get funding from the big boys because the process is complicated, controlling to some, and of course all in English!

06/08/2020

I am bad! I intended to get back and update whats been going on with sustainable harness weeks ago, but didn't! Getting really busy here in the workshop, folk dropping in with odd repairs, and having a chat, nice and easy.
And watch this space, I am about to apply to start a charity to try and fundraise for some of the people I know out in Africa, mostly one man bands, who receive no reward, but who I know work tirelessly to help both the donkeys and the people in their communities. It takes several months to be granted charity status, so I am looking into starting up a fundraising page first, all I need is more hours in the day!

29/05/2020

Finally, made it back into the workshop today. I bought some leather last week and was looking forward to getting back to my bench. OK, the leather wasn't the most expensive, but I have used it before and it has proved pretty good, laid it out, and already I am worried, marking out and cutting does nothing to improve my growing disappointment. So, thought it might be useful to talk a bit about leather!
There are, obviously two sides to a hide, the grain side is the outer side, and the flesh side is the inner. The hide itself will be irregular, but roughly rectangular. It is, in the UK at least, usually sold in the following cuts;
A 'butt runs from the inside of the back leg up to the shoulder. It will be cut along the spine, so, if the tail is by your feet and the butt is running away from you the one long edge, (fairly straight) will be the spine, the opposite long edge will be the belly, and the far edge, furthest away from you would be where the shoulder starts.
From one hide you would get a pair of butts, one from each side of the spine, and a shoulder which combines both the shoulders, this is often sold in square feet, or by weight, lbs or kilos, and usually the thickness is in mm !
The thickness will vary over hide, with the best area being that along the spine edges and towards the back legs. Use that area for your best quality work, or areas that will take the most punishment through work. Every strap you cut will have a thicker, firmer end, use that for your holes, putting your buckle at the weaker end.
Good leather should feel firm and greasy, if you bend the hide, grain side to grain side it should not start to crinkle. You may find that areas near where the belly of the animal was do this a bit, but generally it should not be a significant area.
So, I got caught. It has happened before with one of the biggest suppliers in the UK. The best way is to go and buy your leather in person, chose your hides, but that is not always possible, so this was a phone order three weeks ago. Why did I get a bad one?
Unfortunately there are several reasons for this to happen.
1/ The supplier is using a poor quality tannery.
2/Leather is natural, in economy pieces there is a certain amount of pot luck. You make your order, the supplier grabs the top hide and sends it. Tough, you got a poor one.
3/ A supplier may have been caught himself (or herself, or, if you prefer totally non gendered selves). They are stuck with sub quality hides, so along comes a new customer, buying in very small amounts and unknown. That's the person who gets the substandard, rather than the big company who buy 20 hides a month off the supplier and provide a good part of the income!
What do you do? Well, unfortunately I had already cut into this piece or I would have sent it back. As it was I calmly phoned my supplier and we had a chat about it. He has apologizes and said it must have been an odd one, and he didn't notice. We discussed an alternative product, slightly more expensive, and agreed that next time I would order that. I am pretty happy that the guy is genuine, and certain that he now knows that he cannot send me poor hides, so I will give him another chance. What am i going to do with the hide? As I said to the supplier, I would bin it rather than use it even for repairs, if I could afford to, but luckily I am making display samples which will sit in a high window! So, if you visit me and see the samples in the top window don't ask to buy them, they will not be sold!
That's a pretty basic guide, let me know if you have any questions!
Chris

01/05/2020

Time to get back to work. Now that I am on furlough I can try and develope this idea a bit. Got some new like, so, what is sustainable harness? Yes, I make harness, and leather goods, but my primary ambition is actually that this should be more of a chat room where ideas can be shared. There is no pressure, or expectation of a sale. Weird? Yep, maybe, but there are millions of working animals out there and if I can help some of their owners make a better life for them I receive something no money could buy. Back in the workshop next week, got a collar to recover and a pack saddle to finish, ciao

27/04/2020

Sorry it's been so quiet on here, got no materials, and have been pretty much flat out on other stuff during lock down! Back soon!

28/01/2020

New sign is now up and out on the road. I can manage most stuff here, takes a little time to get fittings and leather in and I don't have any machines, but nearly all my leatherwork is hand stitched anyway.

27/01/2020

We made a little fore-cart over the weekend. This can be used as a little buggy on its own, or we can hitch any trailer on behind, instantly converting any two wheeler into an articulated four wheeler, no problems with balancing our load. Already looking at and thinking about modifications, but the important thing now is to try it out for a while. We have the option on this to take out two pins and remove the shafts, then insert a pole to the centre fitting for pairs or teams. The mounts for the shafts then become the mounts for the pairs swingle trees. Using some 'sustainable harness' harness, all home made, hand stitched and economic

18/01/2020

Some amazing photographs in this album!

Because the other album is just too big!

16/01/2020

Working with Zamora leones donkeys is a real pleasure, nice combination of traditional and modern, with this 21st C forwarder and a decent sized animal you can compete with machinery in the working environment on short runs. Usually pulling timber from the actual forest to the nearest service road. It is the ultimate experience in DAP for both animal and handler, I don't have a massive knowledge, but there are no words to describe the experience, seeing the animal learning to think for itself, realise that it is a partner with you and take up that challenge is,,,awesome! Lots of courses out there if you live in the UK, Europe, or North America, you will never regret going on one even if you never do it again.

16/01/2020

Voice of a Donkey

Something like 40 million working donkeys in the world, each one supporting a family. Yet the donkey gets few mentions, often gets used and abused, usually through a combination of poverty and ignorance, to the point where an animal that can live up to 50 plus years often does at 4 or 5 years old. A lot of that cheap food and clothing that we get, a lot of that has relied on donkey power at some stage.

Let the donkey be heard, he is our heritage. We owe it to the donkey to help preserve his health and well-being.

15/01/2020

Aware Trust Zimbabwe

We have so much positive news to share about Zimbabwe's donkey populations. The SPANA/AWARE donkey clinics continue apace with the number of donkeys receiving such vital attention rapidly increasing. In 2013, the Vets attended to 4,803 donkeys and covered 23,320 kms; in 2014 a total of 11,316 donkeys received treatment with the Vets travelling 35,649 kms. Since the beginning of 2015, 10,500 donkeys have already attended the clinics having a vastly positive impact on donkey welfare in Zimbabwe.
We are currently delighted to be in the company of SPANA’s Chief Executive, Mr Jeremy Hulme, who is visiting Zimbabwe to assess progress of the clinics and the Community Development program. Timothy Mpofu, who joined the Team this year as a Community Development Officer in Shashe, is currently on a 10 day Community Training Course in Ethiopia, together with his Ethiopian SPANA counterparts. The Community Development program in Beitbridge district is very exciting for SPANA/AWARE with the start of the Donkey Harness Making Project. Working with animal owners to address donkey welfare concerns, to educate and promote humane treatment of animals is essential to reduce avoidable health issues and hence veterinary assistance. The hardworking animals (pulling carts, transporting water, people and produce) suffer painful wounds from poor harnessing which could be avoided in the first place and lasting solutions are essential. The community of donkey owners are enthusiastically embracing this initiative which can only lead to significant health improvements for their donkeys. This project is currently funded by SPANA with the intention of the Project becoming sustainable as harnesses are sold on to other donkey owners.
Dr Erick Mutizhe and Yusuf Piri (previously with Donkey Protection Trust who also joined the Team in 2015 as a Veterinary Technician) are currently in Lupane working on the Ocular Study which is designed to attempt to ascertain the number of incidence and causes of eye problems which are considered very high in Zimbabwe. Erick and Andy are investigating this problem in 8 different provinces in Zimbabwe in order to compare whether the incidence and causes are similar or different in each of the areas.
Winter temperatures in Zimbabwe made Dr Andy Garura’s clinics more comfortable as he travelled to Mashonaland West from 8th to 19th June where he attended to a total of 432 donkeys. Of these 155 were given their annual rabies vaccination, 200 were dewormed and 85 were treated for various conditions such as ocular pathologies, abscesses, lameness, diarrhoea and respiratory conditions. With the dry winter season, unlike during the rainy season, the donkey populations are not being worked as hard and therefore Andy noted that the incidence of harness and other work related wounds were low.
In one particular station where Andy carried out the clinics he encountered numerous wounds inflicted by hyenas, some donkeys had already succumbed to injuries sustained in the attacks. Andy cleaned and debrided the wounds (to remove all materials that may promote infection and impede healing) and applied topical Zinc Oxide paste before dispensing some to the owners to apply at home. Andy’s advice that owners shelter the donkeys at night instead of leaving them to roam and forage freely at night was well received. Andy treated some septic bite wounds, treated a case of a corneal ulcer complicated with ocular habronema and encountered a case of photosensitivity.
Dr Erick held clinics in Masvingo province from 17th to 29th June, treating 434 donkeys. Erick noted the number of donkeys attending the clinics had reduced compared to previous clinics. Erick felt this may be due to the fact that donkeys are now left to graze on their own as farmers have harvested all crops (so no longer fear that the donkeys may raid their much needed food supplies) and do not pen the donkeys in at night as they do in the summer months. Erick treated several cases of multiple wounds on donkeys caused by pecking birds which, if left untreated, can become infected with the potential of secondary bacterial infections. Research is required to ascertain possible preventative solutions as this is also a common problem in the Beitbridge area. Continuing the Ocular Study, only donkeys that had not been previously recorded were noted with 9 cases of ocular pathologies out of 160 recorded.
In Chivi a total of 105 donkeys were treated. 4 ocular cases out of 41 new donkeys were recorded here. Cases noted during these clinics included lameness, ocular and some harness friction wounds. A case of sarcoid on the upper right eyelid of one donkey was recorded and, as the lesion was affecting vision, the sarcoid was removed. Non-ulcerated ocular cases were treated using eye drops (tetracycline and corticosteroid combination) while ulcerated cases were treated with the tetracycline ointments only. A total of 300 rabies vaccinations were administered and 286 donkeys were dewormed.
As always, sincere thanks to SPANA for funding these clinics, greatly improving the welfare of Zimbabwe’s donkey populations. Thanks to all the VEA’s, District Veterinary Officers, District Health Inspectors and the communities. Sincere thanks to Mr Ndebele, District Veterinary Officer, for the wonderful letter of appreciation and his praise for Piri’s help within the farming community. Without such team work and effort these clinics would not be possible, nor would they run so smoothly. To those members of the communities who offer safe camping and their homes to accommodate the Vets, assist with photographs and recording of information; we are grateful for your hospitality. Lastly, but definitely not least, grateful thanks to Erick, Andy, Piri and Timothy for their dedication, hard work and kindness to both these hardworking animals and to the communities – your excellent work is appreciated by all.

14/01/2020

Donkeys for Africa

Not common in working donkeys but worth knowing about: donkeys can be “killed with kindness” by wrong feeding. Fat deposits accumulate on the crest, body and internally. Quote from Dr. Eric Davis DVM: Few creatures are better at hoarding energy than donkeys. This picture is the fat inside the abdomen of an overweight donkey, who, unfortunately went into fatal hyperlipemia and died. Research demonstrates that adipose tissue is NOT an inert blob that just stores energy. It produces chemicals that promote inflammation, hormones that alter metabolism, and fatty acids that can permanently damage the liver and other organs. These tragic cases are preventable!

14/01/2020

Indian State Bans All Pesticides. Wildlife, Crops and Tourism Flourish.

Saw this post this morning, what has it got to do with DAP? not necessarily anything except to prove that modern farming techniques benifit no one except the chemical industries and the machine makers. Horse power is not an out moded method for romantic fools. It is here, getting stronger, and right now you can still use 21st C equipment and equines together. Take a look at the Amish equipment, round balers, harvesters, seeders, cultivators, all cutting edge technology. For those of us who prefer smaller animals we just need to start demanding suitably sized versions, if the demand is there the manufacturers will follow.

State goes 100% organic. Wildlife returns, crop yields improve, tourists flock. Governments around the world are looking to the Indian state of Sikkim to see if going organic is viable. So far all signs are pointing to yes. The state banned the import of all pesticides, herbicides, synthetic fertili...

14/01/2020

Playing around with steam today, trying to make pack saddle bars. We will see. My boards are pretty thick, my clamps are best quality bargain basement and not quite up to the job so brought the vice into play as well. I will let you know how it comes out!
Why? Because there is not doubt in my mind that the best bars have a twist in them that conforms to the animals back. I have done a few sets where I start with thick bars and rasp them to that shape but that is pretty labour intensive when you are using hand tools, so thought I would give the steaming a go.

12/01/2020

Just wanted to say a quick thank you for all the likes and shares. If anyone has any ideas or questions they would like to open up that would be really good too. I am struggling a bit with setting this up, but think I managed to say somewhere that this page is not just about promoting my work, I want it to be a shared tool to promote good harnessing, good welfare and to promote draft animal power in any way we can!

12/01/2020

Sustainable Harness's cover photo

09/01/2020

Harrowing with 'Blue'

You will be seeing more of this collar, but at this time it is still being trialled. Also using the solid bar traces, you can see Blue keeps within them nicely at the turns. Not been working with him long at this stage, but fair to say any mistakes are most likely mine, not his!

09/01/2020

Sustainable Harness