La teinture bleue indigo chez les Cils au Vietnam

Indigo Blue Dyeing in Eyelashes in Vietnam

Heading to the center of Vietnam, 50 km from Da Lat, in a village in the middle of the mountains.

In this fairly isolated village, fewer than ten women still know how to cultivate indigo and extract the blue pigments to dye cotton threads. The youngest, K'Gut is 31 years old and shares this passion with his mother.

This know-how is passed down from woman to woman in order to preserve the culture of this people whose traditional costumes are dyed with this blue.

It is with Caritas Da Lat that Opportunity for Women has set up a weaving program to help these women live off this precious heritage.

First step to extract the pigments: harvest the precious indigo leaves

The dyeing process begins with the harvesting of indigo leaves, which are found in the wild but which the women have also planted below the coffee fields.

The species of indigo tree is very different from that of the Lao ethnic group in northern Vietnam. which we work with: the leaves are much larger and the color obtained is darker.

Step 2: Fermentation of the indigo leaves

The indigo leaves are fermented for 2 days and 3 nights in a jar with water.

Step 3: Preparation of ingredients to extract blue pigments

Meanwhile, the women can prepare some rather special ingredients that will be used to extract the blue pigments from the fermented water.

  • Calcium is extracted from crustacean shells. To do this, they have to be ground into powder and this requires cooking them at high temperatures. Women used a system to cook them in rice hulls, but it was very smoky (see video below). So we found a other technology that we provided to the women in June 2020. K'Gut shared with us her joy at saving time on this step, while being able to cook her meals at the same time! She only has to cook the crumbled shells in water to obtain the desired white paste.
  • Seeds are roasted and then crushed into small pieces.

Step four: The fermented leaves are extracted and the blue pigments are extracted

The indigo leaves are wrung out and then the seed mixture and the "white paste" are mixed vigorously with the colored water.

The water rests for 3 hours. Time for a lunch break and a well-deserved nap!

Step 5: Separation of “black” water from “blue” water

During these 3 hours of rest, black water is brought to the surface, it is removed to keep only the blue water.

Step six: the blue water is left to dry to become a block

The blue water is then put into bamboo baskets to become a solid block of indigo.

It takes a week to get really hard blocks. Making blocks allows you to preserve the pigments and dye the yarns at the desired time.

Step Seven: Dyeing the Threads

When women want to dye threads, they dissolve the block in water previously filtered with banana peel charcoal. The threads soak overnight in the blue water and then dry in the sun.

To obtain a really dark blue you have to dye them 3 to 5 times.

The threads are then woven to form beautiful traditional patterns that will adorn your sofas! Approximately 3 skeins of cotton thread are needed for a cushion !

Find the different stages of dyeing in a video , produced by a Vietnamese volunteer :

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