Local blacksmith crafts new tools for next event

We've had more productive days in Tunis catching up on writing posts, doing online research and making more connections for the donkeys. It is easy to keep focused on the donkeys because their presence is everywhere. Almost every excursion from homebase includes a donkey sighting.

common skyline view - a house, trash and a tethered donkey in neighborhood near Tunis

a closer look shows a grazing donkey in good flesh

A few nights ago we met with Dr. Ghalia Drissi to talk about the Mashreq Shams community event. Our meeting gave her a chance to practice her English and she graciously listened to our ideas and shared hers. She was encouraged to hear the positive response we had to our donkey care offerings. Without any hesitation, she was on the phone to the Mashreq Shams development group members and before we knew it, we had organized a return visit to provide care to more donkeys.

We realized it would be helpful to have more dental tools and get our hoof tools sharpened before another event. Jaber got a recommendation from his family for a nearby blacksmith named Slah who might be able to craft new tools for us. We were not disappointed. Just as Ghalia responded quickly, so did the blacksmith. He understood what we wanted right away and said he could make something before the end of the day.

We had a quest to accomplish though. Slah didn't have the rasp part of the dental float, so Jaber stopped at several hardware stores to find a suitable file to insert into the float.

sometimes its faster to walk than drive due to city traffic

of course, along the way we saw some interesting sights

this butcher was right next door to the blacksmith

We delivered the files to Slah, who had already crafted a functional sample handle in the short time we were gone. We had a new request for him to fashion a tool we didn't have - an  "S" float to file rostral tooth hooks. He looked at a photo on our phone, took a hardware file and viola...in a few minutes, we had our new tool - a small half "S" float that will fit into the donkeys' small mouth. Tricia was really impressed with his 'can do' attitude and quick service. He said he liked the challenge of creating new things and was curious about our donkey welfare efforts.

from the top - our tool, his prototype, hardware file and the new half 'S" tool

When we returned in the afternoon, he had sharpened our farriery tools and created a set of straight and angled dental floats. We're hopeful the new tools will work, but if not, we know we can go back to this cheerful creative craftsman to help us improve the prototype.

Slah, new champion for donkeys