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FARM HANDS

FARM HANDS

May 28, 2022
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Image courtesy of CREATIVE BEE

“The Creative Bee Natural Dye Farm was set up about twenty years ago to create a green space for research and development of natural dyes, and for working on handmade textiles”, says designer Bina Rao.

She is speaking of a farm developed by her artist husband Kesav Rao and herself on the outskirts of Hyderabad, the capital of the state of Telangana, India. Bina and Kesav are founders of the Hyderabad-based social business and label Creative Bee that offers a range of handmade textiles and garments.
The Creative Bee Natural Dye Farm, once barren land, now has trees and plants for research and development of extracting natural dyes. The plantation includes permanent trees such as eucalyptus, jackfruit, tamarind, and Flame of the Forest; fruit trees such as pomegranate and lemon; and seasonal plants such as marigold and indigo that provide ingredients for natural dyes. In addition, there are fruit trees like mango that provide fruit for consumption for artisans and their families living on the premises.


Image courtesy of CREATIVE BEE

The focus of the farm is on natural dyeing of yarns and cloth. Natural dyes are extracted from parts of plants/trees on the farm and used for research and development of colours; subsequently ingredients are obtained from tribal federations/wholesale markets for dyeing work at the farm. Non-plant dyes such as black are also made the traditional way by mixing natural ingredients in clay pots that are half-buried in the soil for twenty-one days.

Apart from extracting natural dyes, the team at the farm, also works on handcrafting special wooden hand-blocks for hand-block printing of fabrics using natural dyes; works on ten different techniques of resist-dyeing with natural dyes; and batik by combining hand-block printing of wax and painting with wax. The team collaborates with clients for customised designs with natural dyes on natural-fibre fabrics. Yarns dyed on the farm can be woven by traditional handloom weavers at weaving groups if required by clients.


Image courtesy of CREATIVE BEE

The farm holds workshops for students and textile lovers where they can interact with Kesav to learn about natural dyes, with Bina to learn about textile techniques and weaving at the sample loom; and with artisans to see hand-block printing, resist-dyeing and batik with natural dyes first-hand.
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4 comments

What a wonderful business, encouraging creative solutions & growth from their employees. I hope they have global outlets for their finished fabrics & work with clothing designers who will be open to experimentation in their textiles, like Gudrun Sjoden in Sweden.

Kat FranckNovember 28, 2022

Congratulations on a wonderful project. May polluting chemical dyes be phased out.

Monica HaymanNovember 28, 2022

Congratulations on a wonderful project. May polluting chemical dyes be phased out.

Monica HaymanNovember 28, 2022

Lovely to see this article.My mother bought me some beautiful Creative Bee Scarves a few years ago when she was visiting Hyderabad.

Sheila JacklinNovember 28, 2022

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