As an advocate of the history, the traditions and practice of indigo, I have found the SARA grant has enriched the community with its indigo programs of education, research , training workshops, and connections with a wider span of engagement through Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. -Arianne King Comer My journey with indigo began when my colleague, Jim Bitler, first identified Ossabaw Island’s Indigofera suffruticosa. Soon after, the Ossabaw Island Foundation (TOIF) launched its indigo workshops featuring Donna Hardy, inviting participants into the traditional, hands-on process of transforming fresh leaves into brilliant blue dye. Hardy shared Ossabaw’s indigo seeds across the region. TOIF continues to host annual September workshops. My favorite part of these programs is connecting modern learners to the island’s eighteenth-century indigo story and honoring the skilled labor of the enslaved people who once produced this iconic dye. -Elizabeth DuBose The last five years working with indigo have been a journey shaped by both love and grief. I first received an indigo kit in early 2019, a gift offered during a time of profound personal change. After making my first vat, I continued developing my natural dye, fiber, and performance practices. In the fall of 2022, a mutual friend connected me with Caroline Harper of CHIdesign Indigo, seeking help with indigo processing, and that moment marked the true beginning of my deeper work with the plant. Indigo has become a connector and a teacher—an alchemical practice in impermanence. Through it, I’ve learned plant knowledge, science, and industrial and agricultural processes, continually weaving this research into my art, movement, and improvisational way of living. The past lives in the present, and the present shapes what comes next. -Precious Jennings Board & Contributors
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