
Everything you need to know about vegetable dyes
Did you know that some of Opportunity for Women's collections of handmade decorative products are dyed with plants?
Yes, but which ones? To see things more clearly and better understand the impact of vegetable dyes on the planet, read this new article!
Why does Opportunity for Women use vegetable dye to dye cotton?
Faced with threatened ecosystems, the transmission of dye recipes helps to preserve certain plant species. Indeed, craftswomen from root peoples plant and cultivate endangered species, which helps restore local flora. For example, the weavers of Dien Bien Phu cultivate dye plants in their garden, in order to then use them in their artisanal process.
Pom and Giot grow yam root on the cooperative's land.
At Opportunity for Women, we are aware that our business relies on the good health of the environment in which our weaving cooperatives operate. This is why Our collections are produced in small quantities and by means of rain-fed cotton, so as not to exhaust the soil or pollute it with toxic pesticides. As for the dye plants, these are collected with care and used according to a principle of saving resources.
Pom collects bauhinia bark to dye cotton pinkish brown
Our new vegetable dye decoration products: where do they come from?
Several of our cushions are colored using vegetable dyes. And given the success of our cushions, we have launched new types of artisanal decoration products. Pouches, rugs, plaids, table runners… there is something for everyone! The philosophy of our associative brand remains the same, since the profits from the sales of these products, woven and dyed by hand by weavers from ethnic minorities, are donated to them. These women thus obtain a supplement of fixed and fair income that allows them to live better and educate their children.
Yellow Walang cushion woven by women of the Bunong ethnic group, in Sen Monorom, Cambodia.
It is made with cotton threads, dyed with plants in Phnom Penh by a local artisan.
Patakalo Terracotta Cushion woven by apprentices at the Deaf & Mute center in Luang Prabang, Laos.
Young girls who are hard of hearing and mute are trained as weavers.
They also learn sewing and vegetable dyeing.
Blue Dokmai Plaid woven by women of the Lao ethnic group, in Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam.
This plaid is a unique piece, entirely handmade, from picking the cotton to weaving, including carding, spinning and vegetable dyeing! Its blue color is obtained from the maceration of the indigo leaves .
Blue table runner woven by women of the Cils ethnic group in Vietnam.
This table runner is made from 100% natural raw materials: cotton, indigo leaves harvested from the garden, shells, seeds, and water! We'll tell you more about the secret recipe for Cils blue dye at the end of this article...
Tebui cushions rust, almond green, white and rusty e, white and almond green
woven by women of the Kayan ethnic group in Loikaw, Burma.
These delicate natural colours come from local dye plants, which are infused in a bath filled with boiling water. This cushion is produced in a solidarity approach to support the women of the Kayan ethnic group and the Youn Sone sewing workshop in Burma. This country is going through a major crisis, so this support is more than necessary for them!
How can you help us develop dyeing activity in our weaving cooperatives?
Thanks to your donations on the site HelloAsso , we finance professional training or equipment to enable weavers to develop their know-how in vegetable dyeing.
Lao weavers dye cotton with roucou seeds .
Thus, last May, the Lao weavers of the Dien Bien Phu cooperative in Vietnam followed a training course in plant dyeing, orchestrated by the Vietnamese designer Thao Vu. Following this training, the Lao craftswomen were able to renew and perfect their catalogue of colours from local plants, with the aim of using them for their future textile productions.

Lao weavers from the Dien Bien Phu cooperative in Vietnam,
have completed training in plant dyeing, orchestrated by the Vietnamese designer Thao Vu .
Here they use sappan wood .
You too, support them by donating to our association! It is an eco-citizen gesture, since you help women from ethnic minorities to increase their sources of income by perpetuating their craft activity, while contributing to preserving local biodiversity.
Our herbarium of dye plants
Did you like this article and would you like to know more about the different species of dye plants? Are you curious to see what colors these plants can give to textiles? Better yet, do you dream of rolling up your sleeves to become a budding dyer? Read the other articles in the “Know-how” section of our Travel diary to discover the wonderful dye plants of Southeast Asia:







