Dye techniques

The Huancarani weavers was raised utilizing colorful synthetic yarn for weaving and knitting festive use and cheap simple to use powdered artificial dyes for dyeing their particular regional wool for colorful covers. Undyed wool had been frequently employed for useful services and products eg woven gunny sacks and ponchos because of the number of all-natural colors enabling contrasting stripes and designs. In 2007, the knowledge of natural dye strategies had been fading however lost if they asked Dorinda, a Peace Corps volunteer, if she could help them to save their particular normal dye practices.

The first normal dye workshop in Huancarani occurred in mid-March of 2008 and was a collaboration between the municipal government who provided the transportation and a Peace Corps Partnership system (PCPP) grant that paid the earnings for an area woman who was simply hired because the local all-natural dye instructor and Doña Máxima who was simply contracted because the workshop coordinator and translator. The trainer had walked high to the mountains to harvest the macha macha berries the workshop. Upon arrival in Huancarani the ladies became popular to harvest suyku which was entirely bloom. The leaves and flowers had been removed into a moment borrowed dye cooking pot. The trainer´s understanding stemmed from a workshop a non-government agency had offered maybe not from normal dye techniques passed through generations. She had no understanding of mordants and included a small number of sodium, six halved limes, and a cup of vinegar to each and every dye pot. Today, suyku may be the preferred regional dye plant due to the range of colors the weavers discovered just how to attain through Ph manipulation.

The second dye workshop in Huancarani was the focus of the PCPP grant that paid for the Arte Andino Board of Directors who were all rural weavers to visit Independencia for 3 days of workshops. They brought cochineal for dyeing and alum, iron sulfate, and copper sulfate to teach the mordant process. The Huancarani weavers were intrigued with cochineal having participated in a cochineal workshop, but there had been no follow-up to the 1 day of training and they had no knowledge as to the cultivation of cochineal. It grows in Bolivia on the nopal cactus that resides at lower drier elevations. The mordants used regularly today are alum and millu a local mineral salt. Copper sulfate is used occasionally with plants and citric acid with cochineal for orange tones. Salt and chicha vinegar are also used on occasion.

Everyone´s fascination with regional natural dyes had been piqued but Dorinda´s Peace Corps service ended suddenly and some months later the Peace Corps left Bolivia. 90 days later on she returned on the own to carry on the normal dye workshops, and continued to call her volunteer efforts PAZA. Although Peace Corps had remaining a non-profit organization called KURMI had started employed in Independencia financed by a development contract the empowerment of women. Your local federal government continued to supply transportation to rural communities in order for Dorinda, your local instructor and Doña Máxima could offer dye workshops in 5 outlying communities. KURMI staff would occasionally take part in a workshop to provide topics on women´s legal rights.