BEIRUT, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Before the first copper pot arrives, Tarek Jeshi carefully lays out his tools in the eastern corner of the main square in Kfar Remmen, southern Lebanon.
In his 60s, Jeshi has spent decades retinning copper cookware, a craft that has steadily disappeared as modern utensils replaced the old vessels. But war has given his fading profession an unexpected new purpose: he is now restoring copper pots salvaged from homes flattened by Israeli strikes.
As Jeshi sets up his makeshift workshop and blares his arrival over a loudspeaker, residents begin to approach with blackened, battered vessels -- often among the few household items to survive the devastation.
"The craft of retinning copper is more than 100 years old," Jeshi told reporters. "Until a few decades ago, it was part of everyday life in southern villages."
Jeshi works alongside fellow craftsmen Riad Daher and Samir Khalil, traveling between villages and towns to keep alive a profession that was once a familiar part of rural life.
"In the past, a retinner would stay in one town for a month, two months, or even three because there was so much demand," said Daher.
Copper pots, large cooking vessels, dough bowls, trays, plates and spoons were once household essentials. Families regularly brought them to retinners to maintain their surfaces and extend their useful lives.
Jeshi said the spread of modern cookware, however, pushed the profession into decline.
Now, soaring prices and shrinking purchasing power are pushing families to repair rather than replace. War has added another dimension to that revival. For those who lost everything, a salvaged copper pot is a rare thing that can still be saved.
Among them is Samira Azzam, whose home in the Nabatieh area was destroyed in an Israeli airstrike.
After the rubble was cleared, she found three copper pieces -- battered and blackened, yet intact. A retinner restored them to working order.
"The old copper proved its durability. While most of the other household items were destroyed, the copper pieces could still be repaired and used," said Azzam.
For 60-year-old Fatima Sbaiti from the village of Kfar Sir, a large copper cooking pot also survived the destruction of her home before. Displaced to the Chouf region, she now uses the restored vessel to cook for her family.
"Old copper is extremely durable. It survived the bombing and needed only retinning to become usable again," Sbaiti said.
Retinning a vessel takes between one and three hours and costs between 10 and 30 U.S. dollars, depending on size and condition. The process removes oxidation and rust, returning the cookware to its original shine.
Khalil calls the job physically demanding and involves exposure to pungent materials such as tin and ammonia.
Demand increases during religious occasions, particularly Ashoura, when large copper vessels are used to prepare hareesa, a savory wheat-and-meat porridge, although it remains far below levels seen decades ago, he added.
Forged to resist heat and impacts, old vessels often survive collapsing homes, battered but restorable. While the copper is durable, the craft proves far more fragile.
With fewer retinners left, younger generations shy away from the grueling work and limited pay. The once-common sight of a craftsman settling into the village square as women gather with their cookware is becoming a memory fast.
Yet Jeshi continues to prepare his tools, set up his work area, and wait for customers.
For families across southern Lebanon, the copper vessels they bring to him are no longer simply old kitchenware, but possessions that survived when much else was lost. ■
