Dyeing and Block Printing

Making tea in the dyeing section

The work day at the Weaver's Centre starts at 9:30 for the workers, and finishes at 5. They take a break for lunch for an hour at 1, and stop for tea briefly during the morning and the afternoon. During the day, work proceeds at a leisurely pace. Chandra has been making lunch for us, which we eat at the desk of our trainer. Most of the others eat together in small groups, and then sit outside on the steps watching the traffic go by.

I have been going for a short walk to get a coffee during the lunch hour.

Towards the end of the week, since my trainer is out, I have been hanging around in the block-printing and dyeing areas.

There is another student attending training, and he's signed on for the dyeing, so I've been watching what he is doing. His trainer has worked in the Weavers' Centre for 33 years, and knows everything about dyeing. They do mostly chemical dyeing, but occasionally will train and execute natural dyeing techniques. They are well organized, and are able to do some amazing things, despite the low-budget equipment that they use.

Here you see the dyeing trainer working on re-dyeing a sari. He used the colour sample books they have constructed to calculate the possible colours that could be used, and then formulated the dye required. Cleaning, boiling, mixing, stirring, steam, water, etc. It was just like an alchemist's laboratory!