All about the natural dyes of Morocco: application and origin
Everything you remembered has to do with the effect it had on you. For this reason, it is said that our brain is attracted to more related colors than others. The why? It is still being investigated, making color a field of study that psychology and neuroscience continue to investigate the effect of this feature on our brain.
The fact is that since time immemorial, humans have made this feature an ally for artistic and cultural expression in general. Although currently technology and scientific advances allow not to resort to natural elements for their use, in arab society, colors made with natural pigmentation are still very common.
Surely you have seen before the typical photo of colored powders in sachets. In Morocco they are given a lot and sold by weight. There are them in all the shades you can imagine and they are used to pigment different elements such as lime paint, fabric dyes, crafts and for a host of other utilities.
What is usually given is that you buy the natural pigments in small packages and there the seller of the stall where they are sold explains the perfect way to mix them and apply them to any surface.These natural dyes are also used to dye fabrics such as wool or cotton all through plants and vegetables. But, how do you proceed to dye, for example, a garment?
Firstly, the chosen plant is cut according to the color that we want to extract and it is left in a container to soak with cold water overnight and in the morning it is boiled for an hour. The next step is to put the garment or fabric into the container with the dye and let it sit for an hour. When it is extracted, it is left to dry and voila! We will have already learned to dye.
But where do these striking colors come from that Moroccan vendors put up for sale already reduced to a colorful powder that captures our senses? For example, the yellow color comes from trees like apple, pear or cherry or from flowers like chamomile and other fruits such as pineapple. Red comes from poppy, green from fern leaves, black from oak bark and purple from another fruit such as blueberry, among others.
From Viajes Marruecos we invite you to experiment with these natural dyes on your next trip to the Maghreb country and to get a glimpse of the possibilities of these natural dyes, which, in addition to being precious, are organic and biodegradable, in case you want to contribute to the conservation and preserving the Earth without using products such as chemicals and pollutants.