Ajrakh printing

Ajrakh is a traditional vegetable dyeing and resist block-printing technique on cloth. It is estimated to be around 4,500 years old. The Ajrakh artisans in India are originally from Sindh (Pakistan) and they migrated to Kutch in Gujarat and Barmer in Rajasthan.

Ajrakh is printed using a very complex method involving both resist and mordant techniques, and has a long process involving as many as 20-30 different steps of printing and washing the fabric over and over again. .Each layer of colour is printed a day apart.

Ajrakh is the traditional attire of the Maldhari pastoral community of Bhuj.