Where does the bogolan, how is it made?

How are these obtained vibrant and natural colors such as brown bogolan, indigo blue or green found on www.deco-ethnique.com?

Discover the production and origin of our natural placemats bogolan, table runner blue indigo fabrics and decorative handmade present in the wall decor category.

Bogolan:

From bambara “bogo” land, and “lan” with, the bogolan is the traditional Malian setting the earth on the fabric and in particular on cotton.

Several vegetable concoctions like Galama or pékou produce the desired colors of tissue bogolan.

The sludge recovered in the pools is soaked at least two weeks in water. It is then applied to the fabric using small sticks or brushes. The fabric is then dried in the sun and then washed to remove excess dirt and keep only what is really fixed.

The operation is repeated until the desired color intensity is reached.

The bogolan is still widely used in Mali, including the costumes. Indeed, the natural antibiotic content in the leaves of “Galama” explains bogolan tissues that are traditionally worn by young  circumcised. They attributed the virtues caregivers.

Indigo:

Indigo, bambara gala, is a plant that usually grow spontaneously in the wild. The dyers collect leaves gala at the end of the rainy season.  They are crushed, dried and stored away from moisture.

You can find them in the form of balls on the local market. The indigo balls are boiled in water with potash. The decoction is kept for several days. 9

It ferments and only when a strong smell unbearable, we can proceed with the dye.

In one village, we will always tell you the housing Dyeing …

The gala always gives a color a little dull, as quenching does one then the tissues in the mixture several times and sometimes several days depending on the intensity of color desired.

After each soaking, the fibers are colored pale yellow, but exposed to air the indigo oxidizes and turns blue. In Mali, indigo has been used for centuries to dye clothing.

Previously, practitioners were monotheism preferably indigo clothing to differentiate themselves from other religions. Among the Mande ethnic groups, the indigo cloth is commonly worn by women in childbirth.

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Green:

The color green is a mixture of bogolan and indigo is obtained by mixing the Galama bogolan with indigo.

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At the root of our products: The workshop Kasobané

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Former student and professor at the National Institue of Arts (INA) in Bamako, Boubacar Doumbia has an excellent sense of pedagogy they use to train apprentices. He probably has one of the best skills in natural dyeing bogolan and Mali and even manages to combine this technique with that of indigo, thus attaining rare colors, like green.

It is also capable of applying the bogolan on wood, thereby making beautiful murals.

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He chose to install his studio in Segou, the second city of Mali, where young people are not even “rotting” in the capital. Its purpose is to perpetuate the traditional skills in a spirit of quality and keep young people in the country.

Boubacar Doumbia is one of the founders of the gallery Kasobané Segou where he exposes bogolans made by his apprentices.

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The products it manufactures are very varied ethnic curtains, cushion covers, scarves, table cloths … and his imagination knows no bounds, as in the technique performed in the grounds.

The score of shop employees receive fair pay and a bonus paid on a savings account. This serves to acquire housing, and access to family care and education, and invest the day when they will start a business on their own account.

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Articles written by the workshop Kasobané are fair trade, you can find the natural colors such as indigo and the bogolan in our categories tableware, decorative wall decor and living room.