Yellow color, made from turmeric roots
To obtain a bright yellow color, we use the roots of turmeric, which can grow in front of houses or in the forest. Be careful, there is also a black turmeric!
After harvesting the turmeric roots, a pillory is used to crush them into small pieces.
The roots are then immersed in water, which is boiled for about an hour, until it turns yellow. The cucuma is separated from this yellow water, into which the cotton threads can then be immersed.
We then obtain a very bright yellow.
A natural and safe dye
Turmeric is usually used to color sticky rice: this dye without any chemicals is therefore not at all toxic for the weavers or those who will adopt these woven cushions!
Women are also careful to harvest the roots sparingly so that they can grow back.
How to get a more mustard yellow?
To obtain a mustard yellow, the one that Opportunity for Women ordered, we add to the turmeric roots some ingredients, the names of which are not easy to know, because women often only know them in their dialect!
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from the bark of a yellow tree. This one must be more than 15 years old!
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cochineal lacquer
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annatto seeds, which will give an orange tint
The cotton threads spun with the traditional method are cleaned and wrung out several times, then soaked successively and wrung out in 3 tanks: the first contains cochineal lacquer water, roucou seeds and red bark, the second, yellow bark water and the last, turmeric water. The threads are then left to dry, before being washed in cold water and then dyed again. This dyeing and washing process is repeated 3 times, until a deep mustard yellow is obtained!
It's hard to know the role of each plant... It's an ancestral recipe acquired through experience! No chemical mordant is necessary, because turmeric and annatto seeds are plants rich in tannin. Their color takes very well!
A few months later, the weavers of Na Sang 1 (a cooperative created by Opportunity for Women in partnership with Entrepreneurs du Monde) have finished weaving a traditional pattern and a new collection is online.