Jenny Balfour-Paul Came to Visit

26 January 2019: To Wish You All a Happy New Year (better late than never!), we proudly share a few words by Jenny Balfour-Paul, a world renowned natural indigo expert who has written four books on the topic: “What joy, having known Jesus Ciriza Larraona for so many years, to visit at last his natural dye unit at Auroville near Pondicherry. Lucky to see the original sets of indigo dye vats that are soon to be made redundant as he scales up the operation. There are now 62 new vats – the world’s largest fermentation unit – waiting for work. Wake up world! These are truly eco-friendly, unlike many indigo dyeing operations that claim to be so. What phenomenal knowledge Jesus and his master dyer Kumar (in the white shirt) have gained after years of experience, scientific experimentation and close study. Jesus has also studied many historical recipes – so much is contained in these old books, including all the botanical and chemical studies by Europeans (of course often for their commercial gain but the knowledge can be put to good use now).”