Sunday, March 27, 2011

natural dyes at the organic mela, chennai




Last week I was a part of a wonderful "organic mela" put on by the Safe Food Alliance and ReStore Chennai. the mela (festival) was held in the Semmorzhi Poonga, the new park in central Chennai. It was a hot Saturday afternoon and there were hundreds of people who were coming through. The various booths included information on GMO, pesticides, local varieties of rices, and vendors selling organic groceries and handloom, organic cotton shirts. There was delicious food and the most refreshing drink made from organic palm sugar and lime juice.

I hosted a small table on natural dyes. We showed off some of the beautiful samples made by a friend highlighting local sources of plant dyes. I prepared a cold turmeric bath and those who came by made a little textile from the bright yellow color. I believe that we raised awareness about textiles and the abundance of local sources for beautiful color. It was an inspiring day for me and I am very thankful for the opportunity!

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3 comments:

shash said...

How reliable are these colors on fabrics.

plants people said...

Hi Shash - Thank you for your comment.
These colors can be very light and wash fast on fabric depending on the mordant and the preparation of the dyes and fibers.

kavitha said...

HI do you know any place or person who sells organic dyes? I need it for painting. Please, can you give me some pointers?

Thanks in advance

Kavitha