FROM SOIL TO CARPET Innovative Bioregional Plant and Microbial Dyeing Ain Leuh, Morocco
FROM SOIL TO CARPET
2023
A HUGE THANK YOU TO OUR INCREDIBLE PARTNERS, WE LOOK FORWARD TO A COLOR FILLED FUTURE!
"Once we leave, the work (weaving) will die. That's why I hope the girls of today will learn this work because they don't weave now. If they learn, they can benefit (as we did). " HACHMIA DOUIRI
PHOTO BY JAMIE HOUSE
AIN LEUH WOMEN'S COOPERATIVE
About the project Funded by a grant from Daughters for Earth, Around the World in 80 Fabrics is leading a collaboration among traditional weavers, researchers, designers, textile experts, scientists, anthropologists, and businesswomen to create natural dyes from plants and microbes of the Ain Leuh region of Morocco. From interviewing shepherds, to documenting handspun wool sources, and exploring locally available plant and microbial natural dyes, we are understanding the entire ecosystem to help support a healthier carpet industry.
PHOTO BY JAMIE HOUSE
The global market’s insatiable appetite for cheap Moroccan carpets has fueled demand for synthetically dyed, chemically treated disposable textiles. These chemicals impact the health of local ecosystems and weavers, while leaving consumers unaware of the environmental consequences of their purchases. The craft of weaving is an invaluable link in a complex chain of ancient cultural practices that bind the community, linking farmers, herdsmen, yarn makers, and families. An aging population of weavers holds centuries of knowledge connected to their craft and their expertise is understudied. Without the craft of weaving, many women would be unemployed without the ability to support their families. How can we look to past knowledge while exploring new innovations to support healthier ecosystems now and into the future?
Around The World in 80 Fabrics is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit educational foundation committed to exploring the biodiversity and ecology of natural fibers and colors and celebrating maker communities . We educate, connect, elevate, and exhibit makers and textiles that are nurturing instead of depleting the soils and waters that support all life on this planet. PHOTO BY JAMIE HOUSE
PHOTO BY LESLI ROBERTSON
In a greater context this will be a catalyst for change, from the ground up, in the carpet industry. NINA MOHAMMAD, FOUNDER, ARTISAN PROJECT
PHOTO BY LESLI ROBERTSON
FROM THE SOIL TO CARPET
PHOTO BY JAMIE HOUSE
We have a symbiotic relationship with my animals and the land. When I eat, they eat. God blessed us with them to treat and care well for them. They are hard on everything. It costs 50 cents [5 dhiram] to shear a sheep and you can only sell it for 5 dhiram. There is no money in wool. There used to be an old factory for wool processing in Ain Leuh...The factory closed 3-4 years ago.....I can’t manage by myself. I throw wool in the river. There is no factory now. Same situation everywhere. All rivers are full of wool. KARIM HAMDILLAH, SHEPHERD AIN LEUH REGION
PHOTO BY TIERNEY THYS
PHOTO BY JAMIE HOUSE
PHOTO BY JAMIE HOUSE
When I was young there was a lot of wool. We would have to steam and wash it, take left overs, brush them over. I wore wool at home along with the neighbor children. There was no cooperative them. Nowadays, women don’t process wool anymore. KHANDIJAH OUSHKEK, AIN LEUH WOMEN'S COOPERATIVE
PHOTO BY JAMIE HOUSE
Why source natural, regional wool? "Within the local weekly souks, I unraveled a tapestry of myriad textures and hues in natural handspun wool. This living wool breathed with vitality—it possessed an untamed beauty, unbound by the uniformity of color or girth. Each strand held a tale of its own, a uniqueness that captivated my heart. Why would I surrender machine-spun wool when handspun fibers gifted my textiles with unrivaled character and texture?
PHOTO BY JAMIE HOUSE
As the handspun wool adorns the local markets in modest quantities, securing an ample supply for substantial orders becomes an arduous task steeped in both painstaking effort and cost. Moreover, my weaver partners who make blankets and throws (unlike the women who make carpets) hesitate when faced with the fragility of handspun fibers. The nature of handspun wool may lend to breakages, thereby demanding a price tag that towers nearly two and a half times higher than the weavings of their machine-spun counterparts." - Nina Mohammed, Founder, Artisan Project
PHOTO BY JAMIE HOUSE
PHOTO BY NINA MOHHAMAD
Why move away from synthetic dyes? Synthetic dyes are made from petroleum-based chemicals. While they can create consistent color, they harm the environment and the people working with them in the process. PHOTO BY JAMIE HOUSE Many synthetic dyes today are carcinogenic, meaning they have the potential to cause cancer. Inhaling toxic dye powder can cause respiratory issues and ingesting water polluted by dyes is linked to numerous health problems. 700,000 tons of synthetic dyes are produced annually worldwide, 200,000 tons of which are released into waterways* polluting drinkable water, destroying entire aquatic ecosystems and degrading soil and agricultural productivity. *Source: Scholarly Community Encyclopedia
PHOTO BY NINA MOHAMMAD
PHOTO BY NINA MOHAMMAD
DYES FROM NATURE
PHOTO BY JAMIE HOUSE
Where can we source natural dyes? Nature offers a rainbow of colors from amazing sources. Plants, animals, minerals, and microbes all have the potential to create lasting dyes for fibers. Every region of the world has its own sources for natural dyes. Colors from each location differ due to types of dye sources, environmental conditions, dye recipes, and more. Each place in this world produces its own color palette. For our project, we looked at two sources for color...
PLANTS
MICROBES
PHOTO BY JAMIE HOUSE
PHOTO BY ANNE MADDEN
MICROBIAL DYES
PHOTO BY JAMIE HOUSE
MICROBES ARE LIVING CREATURES, OFTEN TOO SMALL TO SEE WITH THE NAKED EYE. SOME OF THESE SPECIES ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING NATURAL, SUSTAINABLE DYES. BUT IN ORDER TO SEE WHAT DYES THEY CAN PRODUCE, WE NEED TO GROW THEM FROM THE ENVIRONMENT, SEPARATE THEM FROM OTHER MICROORGANISMS, AND CHARACTERIZE THEM IN LABS. PREVIOUSY UKNOWN, NOVEL SPECIES OFFER US ACCESS TO POTENTIALLY LESS HARMFUL DYES THAT CAN BE USED TO REPLACE PERVASIVE PETROLEUM-BASED DYES. PHOTO BY ANNE MADDEN
How can you make color from microbes? The chart below shows how color is discovered in local ecosystems, then harnessed to produce pigments for dyeing.
PURPLE DYE PIGMENT FROM VIOLACEIN MICROBE, PHOTO BY BROOKE JUDE
AN EXAMPLE OF THE DIVERSITY OF MICROBIAL COLORS DIAGRAMS CREATED WITH BIORENDER.COM
PHOTO BY LESLI ROBERTSON
Hunting for pigmentproducing microbes... With support from our Moroccan scientific colleagues at Abdelmalek Essaâdi University, University Mohammed VI, and the National Center for Scientific and Technical Research, our team of US-based microbiologists sampled plants, soils, and water across the north half of Morocco—from sea level to habitats nearly 2000 meters in altitude. We sampled chalky red clay near sheep herders and soils from urban cities, water dribbling from mountain streams and crystalline rivers--even those filled with froglets. We even sampled flowers, leaves, and bark of locally-growing plants. Hunting for microbes outside the lab often involves a lot of “kitchen science.” On outdoor tables in a makeshift "lab", we can grow out unique microbes on Petri plates, and select those with the potential to produce yellow, orange, pink and green pigments. These microbial species can then be conserved in a Morocco-based public repository and explored further for their scalable dye use.
PHOTOS BY ANNE MADDEN AND LESLI ROBERTSON
Here are some of the pigmentproducing microbes we found so far . . .
PHOTOS BY ANNE MADDEN
We continue to grow and characterize microbes from our samples to ensure they are conserved in public repositories.
PLANT DYES
PHOTO BY JAMIE HOUSE
PHOTO BY JAMIE HOUSE
LEAVES, ROOTS, SEEDS, HUSKS, BARK, AND FLOWERS CAN ALL YIELD A VARIETY OF COLORS ON NATURAL FIBERS. LIKE THESE OAK GALLS PICTURED ABOVE, MANY NATURAL MATERIALS OFFER SAFER AND HEALTHIER WAYS OF BINDING COLORS TO A HOST OF RAW MATERIALS. IF USED PROPERLY, THEY DO NOT HARM THE ENVIRONMENT AND CAN CREATE LASTING COLORS.
Documenting an array of color from local plants... In collaboration with the weavers at Ain Leuh Women's Cooperative and nature guide Abdellah Lahrizi, we foraged and documented a variety of natural dye plants and traditions-sampling just a small portion of this immensely productive region. Growing along highways, forest trails, and purchased at local markets, we gathered plant specimens and dye materials to develop a range of colors from reds, oranges, lime greens, mustard yellows, and deep browns. At the Cooperative, we set up a dye studio where we tested, recorded, and found local sources of rich color for the wool. We created repeatable dye recipes from green oak, henna, black walnut, gallium, pomegranate, and madder.
Some of the natural plant dyes from our foraging and research included. . .
PHOTOS BY JAMIE HOUSE
Top to bottom: Green Walnut Leaves, Pastel/Woad, Galium
Reseda lutea produces a yellow from the leaves and roots
Isatis tinctorial known as Pastel or Woad produces a blue dye after the leaves are fermented
Local dye, mordant, and tannin sources PHOTOS BY JAMIE HOUSE
Quercus rotundifolia is used as a tannin to bind dyes to natural fibers, as well as for natural inks
Usnea longissima known as Old Man's Beard is used as a color fixative. Note: while lichens are microbial communities, local vernacular has cataloged these as plants.
PHOTOS BY JAMIE HOUSE
RECIPES
PHOTO BY JAMIE HOUSE
ALUM MORDANT
A mordant is an important fixer, allowing the plant dye to bind to the fiber. The following two recipes allow you to premordant your fibers. Please note that not all plant dyes require a mordant. To dye 1 kg of fiber, use 150g of mordant (this is equal to using 2, 1/3 cup measurements) Hot Mordant Process: 1. Dissolve alum in hot water. 2. Add fiber and alum to a pot with enough water to allow fiber to move freely. 3. Heat at smoke point for 1 hour. Cold Mordant Process: 1. Dissolve alum in hot water. 2. Add fiber and alum to a pot with enough water to allow fiber to move freely. 3. Let sit in alum bath for 24 hours. Stirring every few hours.
PHOTO BY LESLI ROBERTSON
BLACK WALNUT LEAVES SCIENTIFIC NAME: Juglans nigra SOURCE: Public park in Ain Leuh PLANT PART: Leaves FRESH
DRY
FORM OF DYE: SOLID
POWDER
RECIPE: Amount of Fiber: 1/2 Carrefour bag Amount of Plant: 1 kg Mordant Type: None BEYOND THE RECIPE: 1) Let the Black Walnut leaves soak in dye bath overnight before dyeing 2) Heat water to steaming point 3) Add fiber in the pot when dye bath is steaming and then turn off the heat after 1 hour to let it soak *We soaked one sample overnight in a rusted pot, creating a dark green/gray tone
HENNA SCIENTIFIC NAME: Lawsonia inermis SOURCE: Fes Market PLANT PART: Leaves FRESH
DRY
FORM OF DYE: SOLID
POWDER
RECIPE: Amount of Fiber: 1 kg Amount of Plant: 1 kg Mordant Type: None BEYOND THE RECIPE: 1) Add Henna to "tea bag" and heat to steaming for two hours 2) Add fiber and let it soak overnight in dye bath 3) Vinegar can be added to shift the color towards orange
HENNA LEAVES SCIENTIFIC NAME: Lawsonia inermis SOURCE: Ain Leuh Market PLANT PART: Leaves FRESH
DRY
FORM OF DYE: SOLID
POWDER
RECIPE: Amount of Fiber: Amount of Plant: 1 kg Mordant Type: None BEYOND THE RECIPE: 1) Add the Henna leaves to hot water for one hour 2) Add fiber and let it soak in dye bath overnight
PHOTOS BY JAMIE HOUSE
GREEN OAK BARK SCIENTIFIC NAME: Quercus rotundifolia SOURCE: Ain Leuh Cooperative PLANT PART: Bark FRESH
DRY
FORM OF DYE: SOLID
POWDER
RECIPE: Amount of Fiber: 1 kg Amount of Plant: 1 kg Mordant Type: None BEYOND THE RECIPE: Note: The bark is not pounded and is soaked for 48 hours before dyeing 1) Soak the plant in steaming water for an hour. 2) Add the fibers and let them soak in the dye bath overnight.
GALIUM SCIENTIFIC NAME: Galium rotundifolium SOURCE: locally gathered PLANT PART: FRESH
DRY
FORM OF DYE: SOLID
POWDER
RECIPE: Amount of Fiber: 1 kg Amount of Plant: 1 kg Mordant Type: Alum BEYOND THE RECIPE: 1) Soak plant in steaming water for 1 hour 2) Add fiber and leave to soak in dye bath overnight
MADDER SCIENTIFIC NAME: Rubia peregrina SOURCE: Fes Market PLANT PART: FRESH
DRY
FORM OF DYE: SOLID
POWDER
RECIPE: Amount of Fiber: 1 kg Amount of Plant: 130 g Mordant Type: Alum BEYOND THE RECIPE: 1) Add the Madder to the dye bath when the water is hot and steaming 2) Soak plant in steaming water for 1 hour 3) Add fiber and leave to soak in dye bath overnight
POMEGRANATE SCIENTIFIC NAME: Punica granatum SOURCE: Fes Market PLANT PART: skin of the fruit FRESH
DRY
FORM OF DYE: SOLID
POWDER
RECIPE: Amount of Fiber: 1 kg Amount of Plant: 250 g Mordant Type: Alum BEYOND THE RECIPE: 1) Soak plant in steaming water for 1 hour 2) Soak fibers in dye bath for two hours or overnight for best results 3) Works well mixed with other dyes to modify the color
PHOTO BY JAMIE HOUSE
Our Team Artisan Project
Nina Mohammad, Founder and creative director Maymuna Galbert, Intern and translator Alima Manaar Galbert, Intern and translator Mehdi Benalmahi, Logistics Soukaina Siyali, Assistant
Ain Leuh Cooperative Khadijah El Abdi, President Hachmia Douiri, Treasurer Khadouj Ouashkek, Secretary Fatima el Aroussi Hjou Amraoui Hay-at Assafi Jamila Rachidi Sadia Oubla Rachida Ghanem Mahamma Bahous
Around the World in 80 Fabrics Dr. Tierney Thys, Co-Founder and marine conservationist Lesli Robertson, Outreach Director and textile specialist Carroll Dunham, Co-Founder and medical anthropologist
The Microbe Institute Dr. Anne Madden, Founder and microbiologist
Jude Lab Dr. Brooke Jude, Associate Professor, Bard College
LUMIX Ambassador Jamie House, photographer
PHOTO BY JAMIE HOUSE
We would like to acknowledge the talent, knowledge, and generosity of our entire team who gave their resources, time, and energy for this ongoing project. Special thanks goes to the weavers at Ain Leuh Women's Cooperative whose talent, knowledge, and mastery of this beautiful craft has left us in awe.
Special thank you to the following: Grant support from Daughters for Earth The Morocco microbiology team: Prof. Hassan Ghazal, Prof. Said Barrijal, Dr.Rfaki Abderrazak Panasonic The Microbe Institute Jude Lab at Bard College Ginger Krieg Dosier Grace Flinchbaugh Photos contributed by our entire team
2023