Since we started five years ago, it has never been a secret that we're a small team of inspired people. Cinta Bumi Artisans' studio is basically a 56-sqm space on the ground floor of my house, consists of a craftroom, outdoor dye kitchen, and my daughter Bhumi's playground.
When we moved into this house, the front and back yards were only dwelled by rambutan, banana, magenta cherry, agave sisalana (sisal), and some ornamental flowers. Bringing plant galore from the garden of our previous home, I immediately had to organize 'which plant went where' based on the characters of the plants, and it was challenging since our old plants used to live directly on the ground, not pots -- but of course I did not expect that they adapted so well and quickly.
Once it's done, we started to plant more seeds on two trays. With a very limited space, we now grow 50+ plants -- mostly are dye plants and herbs. 63 pots later, this is a glimpse of our tiny "dye castle" in the front yard (and me chatting with a golden thryallis), taken just earlier this morning.
Some people asked us if our home-grown dye plants are enough for our production. Well, the truth is... our garden produces more quantity of botanical matters than what we need for creating our plant-dyed goodness!
We do our best, and our best is doing it small batch. When we say we make a one-of-a-kind, we do mean it literally and wholeheartedly. We don't take much from nature and we don't overstock -- which has trained us so well to not overstock supplies and become greedy by taking everything for granted especially during this tough season worldwide.
Start small. Plant some seeds. Plant some love. Save some rainwater. Grow your garden -- even if it's only take a tiny part of your apartment's balcony. Wake up early. Respire fresh air. Say hello to the sun (or the rain). Give from an open heart. Accept with an open heart. Dream big. Do what you're best at. Remember why you do it, how you do it. Back to the first step of the cycle ~ your garden will keep growing and glowing 🌿🌻🌳🌺💐☀️❤
Love from your gardener friend,
Novieta