Indigo: A World of Blue - Documentary

Welcome to the world of natural indigo. Follow the production of the dye from the fields of Sindh, Pakistan, through Laos, Indonesia, and Turkey to the famous Pitchi Reddy farm in India. Renowned natural dye experts Noorjehan Bilgrami, Jenny Balfour-Paul, and Harald Böhmer outline the importance of indigo from its manufacture to the pivotal role it has played in the history of textiles and trade.

This documentary also presents rare footage of the dye process in several unique village contexts: the mountains of Nagaland where direct dyeing is still practiced, the island of Sumba where elaborate ikats are dyed and woven, and in Yogyakarta where exquisite batik is made with indigo blue.

Directed by Charllotte Kwon.
Written by Charllotte Kwon and Tim McLaughlin.
Edited by Tim McLaughlin.

🍿 WATCH NEXT:

MORE PLACES TO FIND US:
📸 Instagram:

WHO ARE WE?
We are natural dyers, textile lovers, travellers, teachers & designers 🌿 A family business for over 35 years: Natural Dyes, Slow Clothes, Artisan Goods, Organic Bedding, Handwoven Textiles, Online Natural Dye Workshops, and more…

⌚️Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
01:26 - The allure of natural indigo
02:16 - Jenny Balfour Paul
03:30 - Indigo Harvest
06:11 - History of trade and control in India
07:50 - Setting up for the extraction process
08:17 - Extraction process explained
11:13 - Transforming leuco indigo to indigotin
13:26 - Completing the extraction process
15:41 - The final indigo rich liquid
17:01 - Removing impurities, making indigo cakes
18:30 - Drying the indigo cakes
19:08 - Ajrakh Cloth
23:52 - Miani Forest Research Centre, Pakistan
28:04 - Nagaland, India
32:27 - Vientiane District, Laos
37:57 - Andhra Pradesh, India
42:17 - Suleymankoy, Turkey
47:50 - East Sumba, Indonesia
52:50 - Yogjakarta, Indonesia
55:16 - Dhamadka, India
59:01 - Credits

[DianeJarvis-fo]

Absolutely LOVE these traditional crafts documentaries. Please keep them coming and thank you for sharing with us crafts which, otherwise, we would not see. These are top-notch docs.

[osmia]

Well that's the coolest dye process I've ever heard of

[irishcottagerenovation]

A brilliant informative documentary. I’m in awe of these people producing the beautiful blues from the different varieties of indigo. It was wonderful to see how the different processes worked. Thank you so much for sharing.

[תמישטרן-פה]

Absolutely wonderful, mesmerizing. Beautifully done documentary!

[ukestudio]

Glad the YT algorithm drew me here. Great cideo ! Thanks !

[lcarolynghearing]

Oh my goodness, such a wonderful documentary! Thank you for sharing this with the world!!

[ginnyellsworth]

This was a wonderful documentary. I loved the way the artists and craftsmen were allowed to showcase their work.

[StudioOneArchitects]

Outstanding documentation of natural dyeing processes . Thanks for curating them

[victoriacarey]

Magic and wonderfully informative.i worked in a natural wool dying studio in Taos, New Mexico and learned so much, but also so much less than these true artisans. part of my experience was to grind indigo from a rock of it. It was an incredibly spiritual undertaking. Thank you for this documentary and for putting it in my viewing path.

[Wildevis]

I am enamoured with Indigo and this documentary was fascinating and so informative. Thank you for this awesome documentary on Indigo!

[MullBatoora-kfcj]

Great documentary lots of Arts banished with passage of time.

[pchabanowich]

How in Creation was it discovered that a plant would produce indigo dye through a process? What triggered the concept? Pure time-honoured genius!

[karinmeira]

🙏🏻 thank you for this most exquisite documentary.

[camillealatorre]

In México we had our own kind of blue. In fact, there's Two kinds: 1) from Northwest and the southeast (mayans) los azules llamados “mayas” se fabrican al fijar el tinte orgánico índigo en los minerales arcillosos paligorskita (también conocida como atapulgita) y saponita, arcillas que solamente se encuentran en la península de Yucatán y Guatemala

[chanchoyling]

Thank you for the wonderful documentary. The different plants and organic materials used in natural dye for yarn and cloth are fascinating. Different societies/cultures have creatively use what is available to them and made beautiful cloth/ clothes that are distinct. Hopefully the artificial modern production will not kill the artisans.

[Zai]

Neat! Loved the late 90's early 00's aesthetic too!

[CraftSchoolOz]

What a fascinating documentary on the history and production of indigo cloth around the world. Thank you so much for sharing - I hope others get to see this and watch to the very end.

[pamlacey]

This was so interesting and informative. Thank you to all involved.😊

[daleenduplessis]

Time well spent.... to watch this! Thnx

[muhamadna]

Have you heard of butterfly pea (clitoria ternatea)? It is a natural source of blue color too.