Before visiting Munnar, I was not aware of the health issues related to tea plantation workers in India. Often foreign media would focus on the working conditions of garment factory workers, yet the problems related to tea plantation workers (primarily female) are largely ignored. Although they are not stuck inside cramped factories [...]

 
Ever since I became interested in indigo dyeing a few years ago, I noticed that the resurgence of natural indigo is also taking place around the world. The art and science of natural indigo dyeing is an important world heritage that connects us all, and its timely revival reminds us that this [...]

Ajrakhpur – the land of Ajrakh
 
Before my trip to India, my knowledge on Indian textiles was minimal, yet the textiles workshop at Somaiya Kala Vidya (see my earlier post) completely opened my eyes. I did not realise that block printing is such a complex and time-consuming process, especially when only natural dyes [...]

 
 
After my 10-day textiles workshop in Japan last year, I wanted to learn more about natural and indigo dyeing, so I did the Natural dyeing course for two terms at Morley College in London. The more I learnt about the subject, the more I realised that India had to be my [...]