La tierra que nos sustenta

Blue gold, as indigo or "xiquilite" was known during the colonial
period is one of the most important crops of our natural history. 400
years ago its indigo blue dye was used because of its penetrating
and resistant in the fabric atributes, it captivated the old Europe
and its commerce became, in the motor of a protoindustrial
development in the economy of the New and the Old World.
The dye of the indigo substituted the expensive and pulverized,
“lapislázuli” in Europe and its consumption expanded rapidly in
the world, it was in El Salvador that the largest indigo plantations
and production took place.This economic prosperity led to the
emergence of independence ideas from the kingdom of Spain and
its trade monopoly. In this part of the isthmus the civil and economic
society of that time, started to have radical ideas of emancipation
and freedom, that is why the vox populi attributes to the indigo the
title of "cultivation of independence".
The cultivation of indigo was extended in vast territories, from
the high and cold lands in Chalatenango, the temperate ones
of San Vicente and Cuscatlán to the low and warm lands of San
Miguel. Many dyeing piles were built to process indigo and
they required large amounts of native people to work on them.
The boom for synthetic dyes, at the end of the 19th century,
generated its slope, and for the 20th century the indigo was
just the blue in our flag and a memory for years of wealth. The
harvest now represents a source of employment for peasants,
artisans, and designers who innovate in dyeing techniques. The
strong identity of indigo is present in all the national emblems
since 1912, it is the blue of our nation.
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