---

Indigo At-Home Kit Instructions can be found here!

Purchase your own Indigo Kit

---

Growing with Indigo

Through exploring indigo, we are able to examine a troubled history of discrimination and racism in our country, connect with our neighbors, and acknowledge harmful environmental impacts of synthetic dyes. 

In 2018, with the help of our community, we transformed a vacant Cleveland lot into an indigo garden. Growing locally has allowed us to directly engage our neighbors in growing and processing indigo. Programming developed around our dye garden offers students an opportunity to dive deeper into the history and use of natural dyes while also examining their role in a worsening climate crisis. 

Japanese Sukumo

Most indigo grown in our country comes from Africa. However, the climate in northeast Ohio is comparable to Japan, making Japanese indigo (indigo tinctoferia) the best option for Cleveland. Japanese indigo tradition turns the harvested leaves into compost (sukumo) using a special composting floor. Our composting floor is one of only four in the United States. 

Growing and harvesting indigo leaves is only the first step to making indigo dye. While there are many ways to extract the dye, we became fascinated with the traditional process of sukumo (Japanese for compost). In this tradition, 450 lbs of dried leaves are needed, as well as a special composting floor to make a dried leaf concentrate, that turns into the blue dye. We quickly realized we needed more indigo! In 2019, with support from Cuyahoga Arts and Culture, Cleveland Foundation and Gund Foundation, we hired Rowland Ricketts to build our very own composting floor in the garage behind Praxis. Also that year, we doubled the size of our crop by adding a lot in South Collinwood on the property of our partners at Hospice of the Western Reserve. This lot was located across from Hannah Gibbons school and allowed for a wonderful engagement with 3-8th graders there. 

It took three years of growing and harvesting indigo leaves to collect enough to create sukumo, but we made it! Shortly after, in April, 2020, we started our very first, natural, fermented indigo vat. Momentum was strong in 2020, and although the pandemic altered many plans, we continued to grow and harvest indigo. In this year, instead of asking volunteers to join us on our lots, we asked them to grow indigo in their home gardens. Participants followed weekly YouTube videos to learn how to grow and harvest the plants. In exchange for bringing their harvested leaves to Praxis at the end of the season, we taught them how to dye in our natural indigo vat. ​​​

Praxis Indigo Co-op

The Praxis Indigo Co-op is a member based group who shares the love and admiration for natural indigo. The co-op aims to educate about indigo's harmful past in our country and the detrimental impact of synthetic indigo practices on our environment. Members can choose to participate in any benefits and in exchange will work to maintain the indigo production in place at Praxis. 

Starting June 1st, 2023!
Member benefits include:

• Exclusive access to our ‘Grow Indigo at Home Program’ featuring private weekly videos about growing and processing indigo to use AT HOME
• 2 days per month access to the Praxis natural indigo vat 
• Access to indigo vat for use with natural fibers, up to 1000g per day
• Discounted workshops

Membership Requirements:

• Volunteer to help with harvesting or vatting for 8 total hours per season
• Become a responsible steward of the Praxis indigo vat 
• Share your indigo experiences via our blog
• Share in decisions about how the indigo is used and shared in the community.
  

Become a Praxis Indigo Co-op Member