Kofar Mata Dye Pits

The Kofar Mata dye pits in Kano are said to be among the oldest continuously operating indigo dyeing centres in Africa, established several centuries ago. Craftsmen still lower cotton cloth into deep pits filled with fermented indigo and potash, producing the rich blue-black fabrics long prized across the Sahel. Visitors can watch the labour-intensive process, from mixing the dye to beating the finished cloth to a lustrous sheen. The pits are a living link to Kano's medieval role as a trans-Saharan trade metropolis.