Batik Factory

Kandy is a former royal capital in Sri Lanka and is, therefore, an important centre for Arts & Crafts. Visiting a Kandy batik factory is a great opportunity to discover this intricate technique.

Batik is a very time-consuming handmade technique where hot wax is applied to the fabric before dyeing. Once the wax is dry, the fabric is dyed and the wax is boiled off. This process is repeated several times, to create a design with several colours. A simple batik might have one or two colours, however, a more complex one will show a range of colours with more advanced designs.

Fabrics suitable for batik are cotton and silk, any synthetic fibre would burn in the process. Also, you need to set the colour in the fabric between each dyeing, and natural fibres are best for that. Between each dye, you must let the fabric dry, and the sunshine brightens the colours! In this labour of love, the number of colours is an indicator of how much work was required. The more colours there are, the more time it takes and the artisans at the Kandy batik factory can work on a single piece for hours on end.

History of Batik

The technique of Batik likely originates from Ancient Egypt or Sumeria, however, it spread across South East Asia and some parts of Africa. The Dutch introduced batik to Sri Lanka and it developed its own style.