Worms Land A Great Job Working With Gorgeous Indian Textiles
After the craftspeople of Ajrakphur dye fabrics with a traditional block printing method, there's a lot of toxic waste water. Enter the earthworms.
In the northwest Indian village of Ajrakhpur, 37-year-old Sufiyan Khatri stirs several stinky vats: one of bubbling indigo, another simmering pomegranate skins and a third containing a black, gummy brew of rusty bicycle parts fermenting with sugar cane. The mixtures are used to dye textiles with a traditional block-print method called ajrakh.
Khatri, who learned the craft from his grandfather, shares his last name with many Muslim textile artisans in the region who brought their craft to India from Sindh in Pakistan. Khatri means "one whoas a main source of income.
