Raffia Dyeing in Madagascar

The Raffia palm is a grass-like plant native to Madagascar that is used for weaving and crocheting. To give the rafia its color, it is gathered and soaked in buckets of water. It is then dyed with various colors of dyes, and placed in baths with salt to set the dye. The baths are heated with charcoal. The coil, or skein, of raffia, is then hung in the shade to dry before being woven or crocheted into beautiful bags. The skein is sometimes partially-dyed, as to create a multi-colored skein.  Akany Tsimoka, a non-profit organization in Madagascar crochetes the fibers into beautiful bags.