A dyeing workshop in Somone is three hours of natural dyeing on the shores of the lagoon: you prepare your colour baths from plant pigments, and leave with a dyed piece of your own. Materials and guidance are provided, and beginners are welcome.

Natural dyeing: baths, pigments, dyed piece

Natural dyeing means colouring fabrics from plant pigments, in the Senegalese tradition. The workshop is guided step by step: you prepare your own colour baths before dyeing your fabric. Materials, guidance and the making of a dyed piece to take home are included.

The session lasts about three hours and the price is per person: it is a compact format, suited to a morning or an afternoon, which leaves time to dye, rinse and let dry. The workshop takes place beside the lagoon, at Thiafoura. Wear clothes you do not mind getting stained: you handle dyes. The workshop is open to beginners, in a creative, friendly atmosphere.

If you live on the Petite Côte, it is a workshop to do with friends in three hours. If you are visiting, it is a calm activity to slot between two beaches, which shows you how the colours of the fabrics you see in the markets are made.

Somone, beside the lagoon

Somone lies about ten kilometres south of Saly, on the Petite Côte. The village, built beside an estuary where sea and river meet, is calmer than its lively neighbour, made for contemplation and nature watching. The workshop is held on the shores of the Somone lagoon, at Thiafoura, an ideal setting for handling plant dyes.

Around the workshop

After the session, a pirogue trip on the lagoon is the logical next step, and the Bandia Reserve, the Popenguine reserve and Joal-Fadiouth are classic outings from the Petite Côte. To stay with textiles, dyeing, batik and textile workshops are available elsewhere in Senegal.