The fabric is taken out of the dyebath and hung or spread out to dry to ensure complete oxidation, absorption and 'fixing' of the dye. When it is taken out of the dye bath, it has a greenish-blue sheen which turns dark blue on exposure to air. It is then starched using cooked cassava starch and left to dry in the sun. A number of modules have been developed which can be used as starting points for investigations that teachers and pupils could do. Although this presentation has focussed mainly on the processing of the indigo dye, the module developed by the author looked at the dyeing process using both natural and synthetic dyes.
Pupils complete a questionnaire on gara.
This is followed by a group discussion on what gara is. Pupils extract dyes from the different materials used to make the indigo dye. This is followed by its separation to see whether the separated colours are the same as the ones extracted. School children in forms or years 1 and 2 at the secondary school level, can, through the gara dyeing process, understand for example, the distinction between light, coloured materials and dyes. They can also find out if there is any relationship between the medium of extraction and the intensity of the dye produced as well as the rate of production of the dyes in the different media.