Kofar Mata has been dyeing cloth since 1498. At its peak the field held 144 hand-dug shafts about six feet deep; roughly fifty are still in daily use. The vat is natural indigo with ash and potash, fermented for at least a month, and the knowledge passes down through families.

Depth of blue is a count, not a pattern: dip, oxidise, dip again, until the heaviest cloth goes blue-black with an aubergine cast. Wooden mallets then beat the weave until it throws a coppery, uneven sheen — the mark of genuine Kano turkudi.