An 8 hour bus ride to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. Stopped off to see the silk making process at a community start up. An ex American soldier started it to provide employment for local women injured or widowed during the war. His widow carries it on. Silkworms are hatched. They are pinpoints that can only be seen when they move. They eat ONLY mulberry leaves and the home tree orchard supplies the program. 

After ten weeks they start spinning cocoons which takes 3-4 days. The cocoons are put in the sun to die, because if they burrow out, the silk is unusable. If they do burrow out they are a moth. 




The gentleman has attached 60 (yes sixty) strands, one from each of  60 cocoons to make 1 (yes one) silk thread to weave. The women are weaving scarves, they make one a day. The woman is winding spools of  blue dyed silk thread. Sorry haven’t determined how to order pictures yet. Her scarves cost $20 US dollars for small and medium, $30 for large (width). The tour ladies said they were as soft and strong as Hermes product. 






Comments

  1. AnonymousJanuary 18, 2024 at 5:58 PM

    A new appreciation for silk! And the vibrant colours are awesome.
    MAC

    ReplyDelete
  2. SEJanuary 18, 2024 at 8:42 PM

    Beautiful pieces of wearable art! Wow! I had no idea the process is so labour intensive. I’d be willing to pay more than the asking price for a scarf, knowing it takes a day to make one.
    Steph

    ReplyDelete

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