Gujarat: Tribal farmers’ dreams to dye blue | Vadodara News

Vadodara: Indigo – from exploitation to revolution – has colored the pages of Indian history for ages, especially during the rule of British India. The boon and lice of the plant cultivators, yet its deep blue shade has never faded from the imagination of generations.
While its vigorous garden led the Mahatma to launch his first Satyagraha in Bihar, the same plant now helps the tribal farmers in Chota Udaipur to color their cozy dreams.

Chota Chhattisgarh Adivasi Academy in Udaipur introduces a program to train locals in indigo cultivation and extract blue dye. Indigo thrives in the woods of the district, but local physicians have never tapped into its use beyond traditional medical purposes.
“Traditionally Chota Udaipur has been a supplier of natural dyes to weavers, but not blue dye. As we have developed Indigo and been able to extract blue dye, we will train local people and dye yarn for their clothing, ”said Dr. Madan Meena, Director of the Academy. The art of dyeing is similar to the weaving project started by the academy last year. Weavers were trained on the traditional weaving of the tribal ‘Longcoat’ on handloom.
“People here can weave their clothes and dye with the color they extract,” Meena added.
Efforts will also be made to develop Indigo and form groups of farmers who will provide blue dye on a commercial scale. The academy plans to go one step further to make the tribes completely self-sufficient. The academy plans to grow cotton so that handspun yarn can be used to weave fabric.