We learned about the centuries-old craft of block print stamping on fabrics.
Our first female guide of the trip, Meetu, took us about a half-hour outside of Jaipur to the Chippa village of Bagru. 250 families have been in this business for 400 years. It was particularly interesting to learn how they got the reverse process by using mud stamps before dying the fabric in indigo. Then we tried our hand, each making a small red and green piece. Even the stamping is much harder than it looks. I have a whole new respect and understanding of this process.
The blue is a finished piece.
Tonight we went to a cooking class at Dera Mandawa, another example of a family that now takes in guests to be able to keep their large, 110-year-old home. I think the most interesting thing was being able to try the bread baked underground and partly cooked with fuel made from cow dung. We had seen piles of the fuel source stacked by village homes. There was no odor at all. As far as the cooking class, I liked the class I took at Fairchild Tropical Gardens better.
