About this experience
Batik is one of Sri Lanka's most recognisable crafts, and this full day in Kandy puts the wax pen in your hand. Cloth is masked with layer upon layer of hot wax, dyed in colour after colour, and the wax is boiled away to reveal the pattern underneath. The same technique produces the wall hangings, clothing and table decor you see across the island, and you work through every stage of it with an award-winning batik artist beside you.
Your guide meets you at a pre-arranged location in Kandy at 9:00 AM and introduces you to the artist, who sets out the materials. You spend the first half hour drawing your design, then work from 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM applying wax along your lines. Dyeing follows until noon, when you break for a Sri Lankan rice and curry lunch. From 1:00 PM you return to the wax for a second round, building up the layers that hold the colour, and from 2:00 PM to 2:30 PM the fabric is boiled to lift the wax clear. You leave with the finished piece you made.
The workshop runs six hours in total and is bookable for one to eight guests, with instant confirmation when you book. The price covers the artist's guidance, all workshop materials and the rice and curry lunch; transport to and from the workshop is not arranged, so plan your own way to the meeting point in Kandy. Cancel more than 24 hours ahead for a full refund; inside that window the booking is non-refundable.
