Watch: Fresh start for Aleppo's soap industry after conflict

Hisham's family factory once produced five tonnes of the famous Aleppo laurel and olive oil soap a day
Hisham's family factory once produced five tonnes of the famous Aleppo laurel and olive oil soap a day Copyright AP
By Euronews with AP
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Hisham's family factory once produced five tonnes of the famous Aleppo laurel and olive oil soap a day. Now he makes just 100kg per day, but says he is happy with that – for now.

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The manufacturing industry in war-torn Aleppo is slowly recovering after the battle for the city finally came to an end in late 2016.

Green and organic olive soaps in Aleppo are popular among global consumers with its content of natural laurel and olive oil. 

Before the war in Syria broke out, soap factories were found in almost every corner of the city.

"The Aleppo soap has no pigment or essence. The scent comes from laurel oil," said Hisham Jbeili, a well-established soap maker.

Jbeili was born and grew up in Aleppo. He is the sixth generation of soap maker in his family. He used to own a factory which produced five tonnes of soap every day, selling to countries including South Korea, Japan and New Zealand.

But the war in Syria changed everything for him and his business. 

"The opposition forces occupied my factory. They stole my soaps. I lost about four million US dollars. All I had was my house," said Jbeili.

Now his small factory can only produce 100 kilograms of soap a day, equivalent to one-fiftieth of his old factory’s daily output. B even with this severe cut in production, Jbeili said he was happy. The soap he makes, he said, is more than just a soap, it is the memories of every citizen of Aleppo.

"The soap is in every Aleppo resident's blood. Every morning we start our new day by washing our faces with the soap," said Jbeili.

Video editor • Thomas Duthois

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