Contrary to what some people might think, I do have a little fashion sense (especially when it comes to footwear and I refuse to wear “sensible” shoes as long as I live!) The sandals in the photo are made from old tires and, no, I didn’t buy any. The Vietcong started making sandals from tires because they were so durable. A man near the tunnels was making these shoes and selling them for about 4 bucks a pair. He was using tar and he had a fire going. It appeared he was melting parts of the shoe together and putting a hole through the soles to attach the rubber straps.
The Vietnamese are very resourceful people. When we were near the coast, we would periodically run over 6-10 old bicycle tires in the middle of the road. Our cab driver told us that the fishermen put clams, crabs, snails, etc. – anything with a hard shell that needs to be cracked in the hollow of the tires. Cars drive down the street and run over the tires, breaking the shells but not crushing what’s inside. How efficient is that?!
Old tires- many uses
Categories: vietnam
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