Indigenous knowledge of natural dyes

On Monday, Warmayllu organized a dyeing workshop in the kindergarten of Chamis, a rural community eight kilometres outside Cajamarca. Several of the children’s mothers came to help us in the dyeing process and pass on their ancestral knowledge of natural dyes. This time, we dyed the wool a bright green.

At the start, each child gets a bundle of thread. The woollen thread is wrapped around his or her out-stretched hands and should be around 50 turns long.




The bundle is tied up with a coloured piece of thread so that every child will recognize his or her own. The bundles are washed with soap and rubbed with a natural substance that enhances the absorption of the colour.




A huge pot of water is set to boil. As yet, the power-distribution network does not reach Chamis, so everyone uses firewood for cooking. A generous amount of alder leaves are cooked for 40 minutes and then thrown away. Once the boiling water is clear of leaves, colorant is added and the threads are thrown.




In 30 – 45 minutes they soak in enough colorant to shine bright green. Then they are washed again and hung to dry.






It was very interesting to witness how skilfully the rural mothers worked with herbs and plants to bring out brilliant colours. The practical knowledge and rich lore of the people in the rural communities where we work do not cease to amaze me. People live in a close relationship to nature, and they know how to use its gifts in a sustainable way. Natural dyes are not harmful for the environment like chemical ones are. Ancestral practices are still is use.

The handicrafts on sell around here are all dyed by hand, using natural dyes. The colours are bright and vibrant – so bright that a visiting Finnish friend felt she couldn’t wear them in dull and grey Finland! I must have gotten used to the Andean colour scheme, for I have bought quite a few bags and mean to go on using them after I return to Finland.