Although I learned a lot from Ibu, she was not particularly interested in the dying part of the process. I met a few people who were interested in natural dyes but mostly as artistic experimentation, So I went to see the dye master himself: Pak Hendri.He has a small batik center in Central Java, an area renown for its batik production. Today most of it is still produced using chemical colors.
Pak Hendri is reintroducing natural dyes throughout Indonesia (as well as Japan and Australia) by traveling around giving these workshops to anyone using fabric dyes (batik or weaving).
His modest batik studio is tucked away in a small village about a hour form town, where his wife makes the designs which are drawn onto the cloth by three young women. There are also three men who do the dyeing. This is also the traditional division of labor. And after giving it a shot myself I understood why...I was very warmly received and spent a little while living with these kind folks learning as much as I could before having to fly back to Canada.
I brought back some of the raw materials necessary for making these natural dyes. I am looking forward to giving workshops in the very near future, so if anyone you know is interested please send me an email to Batikfanatik@gmail.com
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