Event: Slow Food Bali x Threads of Life x Javara
/What: Colors of Life: Exploring Indonesia's Natural Dyes
Where: Umajati Retreat
Client: Slow Food Bali, Threads of Life
Press: Color Me Natural (Bali Advertiser)
Slow Food Bali — with Javara and Threads of Life held an event to highlight the world of natural and plant dyes in Indonesia, ending with a wonderful meal designed around naturally dyed heritage foods of the archipelago.
A half-day journey through Indonesia's indigenous knowledge of the natural world led by two incredible organizations working to preserve this knowledge across the archipelago.
Threads of Life has documented over 300 dye plant species across the country and has created a dye garden within Umajati Retreat itself. Threads of life works with over 1,000 weavers and natural dyers across 11 islands in Indonesia.
Javara produces artisanal food products by respecting the food identity, highlighting their place of origin, unique characteristics & their producers. Their products represent Indonesia's food biodiversity, indigenous wisdom and rich culinary traditions.
“Natural food dyes aren’t used industrially because they’re usually not stable with exposure to light, heat or acids,” Heli told a rapt audience in the Bebali Foundation’s natural dye studio near Ubud. “The colours are more subtle than chemical dyes. Colours are derived from the roots, bark, fruit, flowers, stems and leaves of ordinary garden plants. Most have no taste but a few, like the pandan leaf, lend a delicate flavor to the food. The technique of infusing rice with plant dyes has been used for generations.”
