Euca

It's no secret that I have deep sympathy to Eucalyptus trees. The Eucalyptus is much more than a dye plant for me. It's true that it is one of the most powerful plants if you want to get clear and sharp prints and it give beautiful result but for me it only the tip of the iceberg.

Although I do not an Australian, I know eucalyptus since I know myself.  They fill our country from north to south. In wild nature and in the cities.

Part of the curriculum for Israeli children in the lower grades is to study our history related to this new land and we learn at school about Eucalyptus and how they got here.

The trees brought here at the beginning of the last century with the first settlers in Israel. Israel back than still called Palestine.
The Arab local population in those days called the Eucalyptus "The Jews tree" because Eucalyptus and Jewish settlers came in at the same time.

They brought Eucalyptus because they thought they would help draining the swamps which occupied much of the area and caused diseases. 

Eucalyptus symbolized healing and a new beginning for those people and over time it became a symbol. The Tree of Life.

A tree that emigrated to the land of immigrants. Acclimatized and merged, planted roots in a new land. Just like us.

Today the trees fill the whole country. They are under severe weather conditions without much water and they survive. Like us. 

When I first started natural dyeing I used Madde, weld, cochoneal, etc... I got beautiful results but... there was no deep connection between me and the plants I use. When I discovered that I can use Eucalyptus for dyeing, I was so happy. It was just perfect for me because Eucalyptus is a part of my life in deep layers. 

If I need to translate the word 'Nickname' from Hebrew to English, the translation will be 'Affection name' and yes... it deserve a nickname. Euca.