Natural dyes from wine lees

Within the framework of the training activities of the School of Crafts, a group of rural women, organized as a pre-cooperative group “Tanning Our Roots”, has been working on the recovery of leather tanning techniques with the support of AER INTA Capayan.

This initiative is part of a Participatory Action Research project that involves various actors in the chain. Since last year, they have been exploring the use of wine lees as a natural dye, obtaining excellent results in the early stages. Recently, “due to the increase in costs, we have carried out tanning experiments with wine lees, managing to complete the process using only 20% of the tannin necessary in the traditional method. Furthermore, this new approach has reduced tanning time and improved the characteristics of the leather,” said the participants.

In this process, different types of leather were worked with, including those of small ruminants, camelids and cattle. All this has been possible thanks to the support of Bodega Michango, who was the supplier of the raw materials for the dyes.

The knowledge was provided by instructor Gabriel Varrone, who is part of the School team and shares his knowledge selflessly.

We emphasize that working as a network with our School, INTA, Bodega Michango and the women of “Curtido Nuestras Raíces” has been fundamental to the success of this collaborative project.