They once dressed 'the blue men of the desert', but modern tastes and insecurity could spell their end.
For more than six centuries, a vast area of land in the historic city of Kano in northern Nigeria has been home to dye pits, where beautiful fabrics are produced using ancient techniques.
The unique designs of the fabrics are usually created by women, who twist and tie the material in their homes into different shapes to produce the patterns. The tied fabrics are then handed over to the dyers.Kano city is an important economic hub for northern Nigeria and was a crucial part of trans-Saharan trade in pre-colonial times.
One is the Boko Haram insurgency, which has meant that customers are scarce - especially those travelling through the north-east of Nigeria where the Islamist militants are active. It has also had an impact on those coming from further afield.Only 15 of Kofar Mata dyes of pits are now in use - a few decades ago there were countless ones
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