Indigo
There are several communities in Laos of what is known as Yao Mun. Which means Indigo Yao. This is an ethnic group in Laos. Lao is home to hundreds of different ethnic groups. They are commonly referred to as Lanten. I have been visiting a Lanten village named Ban Nam Chan outside of Houayxai in Bokeo for the last six years. This tribe still weaves their own fabrics, makes their own strings and dyes their clothing a beautiful Indigo color.
I like to support local handicrafts to keep the arts alive. I have purchased from them in the past and when passing their village decided to do a U-Turn and see if they had anything to buy. When I went to the local handicraft shop there was just an older gentlemen with his shirt off sleeping on the ground. Not deterred we wandered the small village until I saw a small gathering of locals cooking Joom a type of Lao soup. Using Laos I asked them if anyone still sold the clothing and prints with traditional patterns. A short wait and two ladies came with bags full of clothes, shirts, jackets and the coveted coasters I wanted. Coasters are created for visitors I know but they have the traditional sewing style. The ones I selected have what he called Dok which translates to flower. And another a woman said could be a snake as it has sharp fangs. What is special about this on top of the designs is the fabrics and strings used are all created locally. It is fair trade too so each piece you buy has a receipt and the money is given to the family who’s more often than not grandmother embroidered it.
I really wanted to see how their dyes were created. I had seen people spinning the string and weaving in the past. But I hadn’t seen how they created the dyes. I asked if they sold the dyes? That is usually a good conversation starter in developing countries to show your genuine interest. I was told they did not sell the dyes but he’d be happy to give me a short tour. These exchanges were all done in the Lao language as I can’t speak Lanten and he can’t speak English. We made do I didn’t understand but I did my best.
He kind of showed me the process in reverse as we skipped around as things weren’t in a nice step 1 and step 2 process. But let’s start off by talking about the plant. They grow them in their village and surrounding area. I asked them if they harvest the flowers. They said no they harvest the entire plant. He walked me to an area where there was a lot of the plants tied up and laying on the side of the road. I thought these were old but actually I now realize this was a step in the process. I wish I had taken a photo of them.
Another step in the process is soaking the dried leaves in water. There was a sweet old lady doing this work but she was shy. She let me take a video and picture but didn’t want me to take a picture of her face. I told her if she’d let me I’d paint her but she was too shy so I wanted to respect her. I was grateful she let me take a small picture. She said she felt silly because she was working and had on a plastic apron but it is her job. I told her I was an artist too and routinely find myself covered in paint.
After this step they move it into these vats. She was ladling it with a dried gourd into plastic containers. The plastic containers are used for storing. When they want to use it to dye they add some water to get it foaming, and place it in a bag to slow drip with water. At least that is what I think he said my Lao listening is mostly for survival not discussing handicrafts and dyes.
After the tour I told him how much I appreciated that. I told him I am a watercolor Artist and showed him some of my work. He was surprised as you don’t see a lot of paint artist in this area. I explained that is why I had asked about the dye earlier. He went and got a plastic bag and scooped up some of the indigo and just handed it to me. I asked him how much I’d be happy to pay for it. He said no he was happy that I remembered him and came back to the village again. To be honest I’ve had a stupid smile on my face all day from his kind gesture. He does not understand how happy this made me. I’ve been wanting to create blue pigment to mull into watercolor paint for over a month. I’ve been looking at pigments to order and this is just special because it comes from Lao where I live now. When I finally create the paint I will share that with everyone and the finished watercolor work.
My plan is if I can sell a painting that contains this pigment I want to buy something for the village with some of that money and return the gesture of kindness. If you are in Laos feel free to visit them and support their handicrafts.
If you are interested in my Art please be sure to visit me.
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