Ban Pa Malee Natural Dyeing Learning Center

Once you step into the area under this tall wooden house shaded by trees, the light smell of Nees blew into your nose. When Ms. Malee was young, she was quite familiar with dyeing from her grandmother’s house, but she had never thought that she would work in the field. Once she grown up, she finally worked in this field. One day, she had a chance to train at the cotton club in Chiang Mai until she found her interest in natural dyeing because it was safe for users and the environment. She also saw that there were Nees growing up throughout the year at her house. Thus, she decided to experiment the dyeing technique until she became skillful. At Ban Pa Malee, there are 2 types of dyeing, which are

1. Hot dyeing : It is to boil bark to get its color for dyeing. 

2. Cold dyeing : It is to dye Nees by using cut and clean Nees, roll them into bundles and soak them into water for 1 night and 1 more day. Then, throw away the residue, add a small amount of hydrated lime, mix and set aside for 1 night. The color before dyeing is green-yellow. The dyeing color can be used again and again if it is made regularly. If it is not used, it will become bad with unpleasant smell and not work. The dyeing steps are dipping a piece of cloth in and squeeze it for 15-20 minutes each time. To get beautiful color and last the color long, you need to dye for many times. Tourists can try dyeing and take your own work back as your souvenir.