Galeri Batik Jawa works with batik painters throughout Yogyakarta, mainly in ten villages in Imogiri District. The painters sells painted batik clothes / jarik that are not yet dyed. After the purchase, Galeri Batik Jawa will process the batik clothes using natural dyed indigo, a technique that was revived from Javanese tradition, however, forgotten and left behind after the discovery of synthetic chemical dyes.

Here’s the process from soil to cloth:

(Photos courtesy of Galeri Batik Jawa)

Workers cut the leaves into smaller pieces to assist with fermentation process.

Worker soaks and submerged leaves in water for 24 hours

Lime solution is added, and the oxidation process begins.

Worker dissolve the paste with brown sugar, lime and water to create dye vat.

The transformation process from yellow to blue

Workers weighted the leaves before fermentation. The amount of leaves determined the weight of indigo to produce.

Worker filters water, ready for fermentation process

The blue color is achieved

The color of cloth after the first dip is yellow. They will turn into blue

After several dips, the cloth is ready to be boiled to remove wax.