Turning Chicken Feet into Shoes

Nurman Farieka Ramdhany, 24, performed his magic on chicken feet/claws, which were originally just waste, by turning them into shoes worth millions of rupiah. Thanks to his efforts, sellers of chicken feet and shoemakers have also enjoyed a rise in fortune.

KOMPAS/CORNELIUS HELMY HERLAMBANG

Nurman Farieka Ramdhany

"Vegetables... vegetables... vegetables...." From a distance, the voice of Asep Solehudin, 35, was heard in Subur alley, Regol district, Bandung, West Java, on Wednesday (12/12/2019). After serving his customers, several housewives, he hurried to meet Nurman at his home in the same narrow alley."Here, kang [brother], the chicken claws. They weigh 17 kilograms. I bought the big ones," Asep said.

"Hatur nuhun [thank you]," Nurman replied as he rooked at the chicken feet handed over by Asep, a vegetable seller who in the last two years had been a supplier of chicken feet for Nurman’s shoemaking business.

Nurman paid for the chicken feet higher than the market price. If on the market they cost Rp 20,000 (US$1.78) per kg, he pays Rp 25,000 per kg. A day, he can receive 20 to 30 kg.

The hope is that these environmentally friendly handmade shoes are always loved by many people.

The fresh chicken feet from Asep were immediately taken by Nurman to the second floor of his house. In a room measuring 20 square meters, the "magic" was made. Stacks of claws were immediately skinned. Typically, from 20 kg of claws, Nurman can produce about 3 kg of leather. The leather then goes into the tanning process for up to 10 days.

In the same room, another worker sews a pile of tanned chicken feet leather in accordance to certain patterns. This process requires a lot of creativity so that the distinctive motifs of the chicken feet are visible in the shoe designs. When the pattern is already formed, other workers changed turn the leather into Hirka shoes, in Turkish, meaning "loveable."

"The hope is that these environmentally friendly handmade shoes are always loved by many people," Nurman said.

A pair of shoes can use 30 to 80 tanned chicken skin. So far, Nurman\'s collaboration with shoemakers has been smooth. As many as 40 shoes are made every month. Similar to shoes that use snake skin, the shoes are sold for Rp 700,000 to Rp 6 million per pair.

KOMPAS/CORNELIUS HELMY HERLAMBANG

Nurman Farieka Ramdhany

Astonishment

Nurman\'s ability to turn chicken feet into shoes made many people wonder. Asep, who supplied chicken claws for Nurman, at first did not believe it could be done.

"He said that he wanted to make it [chicken claw] into a shoe. I didn’t believe it, but it\'s true," he said.

Nurman said his ability to make shoes from chicken feet went through a long process. His father, Fatah Faturahman, 54, was the one who experimented with tanning chicken skin around 17 years ago. However, the results of the experiment were not very successful.

Nurman tried to improve the process of tanning the leather, which takes a year and costs around Rp 100 million for experiments. After a number of failures, he finally succeeded in turning the chicken feet skin into an ideal material for shoes.

Since then, he started the production of chicken feet footwear for exhibitions. Beyond his expectations, several prototype shoes he produced sold for Rp 2 million a pair.

Seeing the market opportunities, he was determined to produce more shoes and regularly participate in exhibitions. From there, chicken feet shoes became known to people. Domestic and international buyers began coming to Nurman\'s house, which is located along a small alley.

"Several customers from Brazil once searched for my house for hours to buy my shoes. After paying, they immediately wore the shoes," he said.

Several customers from Brazil once searched for my house for hours to buy my shoes.

Nurman has begun to share his knowledge with others. He provides time for hundreds of design students who want to learn the process of creating chicken feet leather.

"Hopefully, they will become competitors. Healthy competition will improve the creative process of Hirka. "

However, the Hirka shoes’ journey was not always smooth. Even though the shoes produced are marketable, the production costs are high. As a result, the shoemakers’ income did not grow fast enough.

"With limited funds, I am constrained by product development to make craftsmen more prosperous. There was once a demand for 100 pairs of shoes a month, but I can only produce 40 pairs," said Nurman, who had thought to quit from the business.

However, after discussing with several friends, the intention to withdraw was canceled. He continued to do research to improve the quality of the chicken feet shoes and make them more casual. The hard soles were replaced with rubber. Blake stitch welting (joining the top of the shoe and the sole by sewing it from the inside) was replaced by cementing using glue. The chicken feet leather used to cover the entire shoe is now used as an ornament.

"There are two casual shoe products that will be released next year. The target is 500 pairs per month. they will be cheaper than formal shoes, which will still be produced at 40 pairs per month," he said.

He has big hopes. With greater production, he will add 30 new people, ranging from chicken suppliers, crafters to product promotions.

Nurman Farieka Ramdhany

Born: Bandung, Feb. 11, 1995

Education: SMAN 17 Bandung (2013)

Award: Winner of the 10th SATU Indonesia Awards 2019 PT Astra International Tbk in the entrepreneurship category.