Making a natural dye

In your book, Our Wondrous World (Chapter 4), you learn how to make a natural dye: a colour made from plants.

Step 1: Collect flowers, leaves, bark and roots that give colour, such as beetroot, hibiscus and marigold. Step 2: With the help of a teacher or an elder, boil them in about 1 to 2 litres of water for 30 minutes to an hour, with a plate covering the pot. Step 3: Strain the liquid to take out the plant pieces. What is left behind is the natural dye.

Now you can colour a light-coloured cloth, such as a handkerchief. Soak the cloth in the dye overnight. The next morning, squeeze it and let it dry.

Boiling water is very hot, so Step 2 is never done alone. An elder always helps.