There are worlds beyond our knowledge, there are senses surpassing our comprehension.
There are emotions sadder than our cry, there are needs bigger than our greed.
There are dreams bigger than our ego, there are universes further than our imagination…The clothing line contains several styles in everlasting, naturally dyed colours
Barefoot College is constantly striving toward innovative projects- small and large, local and international- which honour our mission to address the SGDs (sustainable development goals), fostering the capacity to actively achieve a more environmentally sustainable future. Each new success story fulfills our desire to present the world with the latest solutions in action to achieving a carbon-neutral society.
Using the innovation of one of our very hard-working SBI Fellows, Debo Prasad Baruah, an elegantly designed clothing line has been cultivated with a natural dyeing technique, utilizing dyeing agents that are holistically and locally harvested. The magnificent earthy tones of the fabrics are carefully instilled into natural cotton fabrics that the village women of our Hatheli-Sansthan handicrafts department employ on-site with Debo’s brilliant vision.
Women of Hatheli, preparing the ingredients for dyesThe Culture of Care that goes into our handicraft section has been a decades-long endeavour, selling local artisanal products to all who visit, from near and far in Tilonia, Rajasthan. The prospect of offering customers an especially eco-friendly product with richer, deeper colours that won’t fade and collect their hues from their biological surroundings that they’re developed in has long been desired.
Sewing the dyed fabrics into uniquely styled clothingDebo describes the challenges of living in a minimal village during the sweltering summer months while attempting to craft this line of clothing:
“Tilonia, a word my mother still can’t spell right; every day she would call me to come back home. The heat was a little too much, at 48 degrees Celsius. The rain was scanty but when it poured, it poured heavily. Everywhere it flooded, even inside the room. The scooty was my new best friend. Money is the accelerator of any project and I had none. The jerks were huge, the potholes were bigger but the intention was true. The challenges were huge, but the realizations are real; to bring a change, I need to change. The experience was definitely not a cakewalk or ramp walk but the realization was that the ramp walk can be beneficial for both humans and nature- the power is in choices: Natural dyes.
Natural dyes, need of an hour.
Natural dyes, a weapon against pollutant chemicals.
Natural dyes, a hope for a sustainable future.”
Part of the dyeing process, developed on-site in Tilonia, RajasthanBarefoot College would like to thank Debo for serving a great term with the organization as an SBI Fellow, and for the wonderful contribution that will help Hatheli-Sansthan become more sustainable with this new yet traditional ethical product line.
Clothing stylist Debo, pictured with members of our Hatheli team, Tilonia, RajasthanFor more of Debo’s clothing creations, visit @negoreniz on Instagram.
