Plant Resources of Tropical Africa

Promoting ‘Nato’, ‘Bongo’ and ‘Aika’ in Madagascar- AMG project

Associazione Mondo Giusto (AMG) has embarked on a mission to establish 1000 seedlings of Labourdonnaisia madagascariensis, commonly known as ‘Nato’, whose bark is used for dyeing silk and cotton red, and requires protection and germplasm collection. The project will benefit more that 400 farmers and craftsmen from Amoron’i Mania region in Madagascar.

Traditional silk dyeing with Nato bark

Also earmarked for commercial production are Danais ligustrifolia, whose roots are a source of orange to red dyes, used in traditional textiles, to dye raffia and silk, and Indigofera arrecta or Natal Indigo, the main source of indigo dye used since ancient times for dyeing textiles blue. The two are commonly known in Madagascar as ‘Bongo’ and ‘Aika’ respectively.

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