Got Silk?

By Perrin

Boiling the silk worm cocoons

        Everyone knows what silk is. It’s an expensive fabric that was originally from China…right? Well yes, but to all the fine ladies that are wearing a silk dress or clothing right now, I am telling you that silk was made out of string that came out of a little worms bottom. The worm produces the thread to make a cocoon so it can transform into a moth, and to get the string off the cocoon, one has to boil them so the string slips off. The boiling kills all the worms which is too bad, but it is necessary to boil them to make the cocoons into a spool of thread. Cambodia makes some of the finest silk in the world, so when we traveled there, we visited a tiny silk farm where people from the countryside go to learn to weave and produce silk by hand. Working at this silk farm provides them with a job and a chance to earn money, and it continues the hand made silk tradition in Cambodia.

       To make silk, first one has to boil the cocoons so it is easier to unravel the cocoon and make the silk into one long string. Then, one coils the thread and dyes it with natural or artificial colors. 

Natural dyes

Artificial dying

After the dyeing, one unrolls the skeins and turn them onto spools, so that one can weave it. The entire process is done by hand, including the weaving.  It takes about 4 days to weave one silk scarf. The women work from 8:00-5:00 every day and have a two hour break at lunch during the hottest part of the day.  The women have learned intricate and difficult weaving patterns to sell in the store. They work on traditional wooden looms that are slow and if a weaver makes one tiny mistake, the whole scarf is gone.

      The organization is called Artisans D' Angkor and is supported by the French. It benefits everyone; The workers and the buyers. I think Artisans D'Angkor is an incredible organization and is one step toward improving the Cambodian economy and the people’s lives.