Indigo Dyeing & Designs
The Indigo Dogon Initiative, Mali
Mamoudou Nango is master craftsman from a large indigo dyeing family in the Bandiagara region of Central Mali, a region known as “Dogon Country.” For years he worked as a government-certified tour guide and as a village facilitator for the NGO Delta Survie, which serves rural communities and promotes gender equality in Mali.
About a decade ago, Nango returned to his family heritage of indigo dyeing with a vision: "I want to revitalize Dogon culture by preserving ancestral indigo textile dyeing techniques and creating related jobs by expanding the international market for our beautiful handcrafted cotton textiles. This craft constitutes one of the essential foundations of our identity."
In 2013, Nango established La CAPID (Coopérative artisanale pour la promotion de l’indigo de Doruou) in Dogon Country, a cooperative of more than 125 Malian textile artisans. Comprising both experienced women indigo dyers and young trainees, the co-op holds intensive indigo training workshops and promotes traditional indigo textiles in festivals and to contemporary designers. In 2021, CAPID received a public diplomacy grant from the United States Embassy in Mali to promote and commercialize Dogon indigo textiles, the resulting work included a fashion design collaboration with Virginia Commonwealth University faculty and students.