Natural Dye Workshop

Last week, I set up a Natural Dye Workshop for the members of my cooperative here in the village. It was a huge success. We were expecting 35 participants from the village but had 50 show up. The women and girls were very engaged in the lessons and rushed to help stir pots, add materials, or rinse the dyed wool when asked. The only thing they were nervous about was coming up in front of the group to reiterate the lesson in Tashelhit (our local dialect.) Luckily, a few were brave enough each time and all the participants really seemed to grasp the concepts of how to use local materials to dye wool.

In order to pay for the workshop materials and presenter, I applied for a grant from Peace Corps. Thank goodness Peace Corps has a partnership with USAID to fund projects like this. Although I only needed a small amount of money by American standards, the amount needed was out of reach for the local cooperative. One of the business program staff at Peace Corps helped me get in touch with a teacher who is an expert in natural dyes and a wonderful teacher. (She traveled over 20 hours to reach our village for the workshop!) Despite the fact that the teacher, Amina, spoke only Arabic, she was able to use many visuals and the women understood each step very well.

Amina showing one of the colors - I think this one is madder root.

The workshop lasted two days.  On the first day, Amina showed the women how to treat the wool with aluminum powder, which helps the color set in the wool. She explained the correct proportions of water, aluminum and wool and had volunteers repeat the instructions several times in Tashelhit to make sure everyone understood how to prep the wool. She showed the women how to use some easily accessible materials, such as chamomile, onion skins, pomegranate skins, and madder root, to create colors in the wool. The participants were very enthusiastic when they realized they could dye wool with materials they can pick for free in the fields and create colors identical to store-bought wool.

This table, which held the materials from around the community, wasn't big enough to hold all the things the women brought in to Day 2 of the workshop.

By using local materials, the women were able to create all the colors below. Some colors were a big surprise - a branch from a fir-like tree created a beautiful beige while the leaves from an almond tree created a vibrant yellow. Some colors were created by boiling the wool first with one plant and then with another. Dipping the finished wool in a baking soda solution brightened some of the colors even more. The participants had a lot of fun comparing the colors they created "naturally" with those they had previously purchased from a store.

All of these colors were created using materials available locally. Most can be picked for free in our village fields.

At the end of the first day, Amina asked the women and girls to bring in materials from around the village to use as dyes the next day. They really took up the challenge. I arrived with Amina very early in the morning to help set up for the day. As each participant came in, they brought some leaves, or flowers, or some plant they had found around the village. I was astounded by their enthusiasm and so glad I had organized this opportunity for them to learn a new skill and experiment with materials from around our village.

 Thank goodness Linda, another PCV who lives in a neighboring village, was able to come and help out at the workshop on the first day. She helped take pictures, organize the materials and keep me company (since neither of us understood arabic, we spent most of the lesson lost.) The picture below is of Linda holding up one of the colors.

Linda, a PCV from the neighboring village, came to help out on Day 1 of the workshop

 I was so happy the workshop was such a success. The teacher, Amina, did a tremendous job, in spite of the language barrier. The participants were enthusiastic and really eager to learn. Thank you to Peace Corps and USAID for funding this project and to my wonderful counterparts for helping acquire the materials we needed. If they hadn't spent hours bargaining with shopkeepers for the pots, stoves, and buckets we needed, with the hotel for Amina's room, and with village shopkeepers for the gas cans, snack food, and other supplies, I would not have to been able to have this workshop.

This is my favorite color from the workshop. It was created from a bush that grows along the roadside in this area. The bush is the color of a redbud tree, but creates this amazing violet on the wool.

Thanks to everyone who helped me make this workshop a reality. I hope the women use these new skills to create new carpet designs with a natural dye color palette. Keep your fingers crossed their enthusiasm continues and they really take advantage of their new skills.