Sharon Raymond 
This photo sent from the top of a hill in Sierra Leone shows the well-worn shoes of a young man who made them when he was a shoemaking student of mine. He wrote that the shoes had served him well on his journey there, where he was volunteering with an aid organization.
When you make footwear from 4-5-ounce leather as he did, and use no more than three pieces to make a shoe – the vamp, heel quarters and sole – they are rugged and last a long time. There is minimal stitching to come undone, and if soles are stitched on there is no cement to come un-cemented. If stitching wears, the shoes can be re-stitched. A repairable shoe seems like a good type to wear in such a remote location.
