Right after the cooking course one of the guys said that he was going to this free Artisans of Angkor tour to a silk farm and invited me to come along.
They picked us up from their main shop in town where you can buy their products.
The group of us got a tour guide and he took us first to the field where they grow the leaves for the silk worms to eat.
Then we went into a show room where the demonstrate the process to get the silk
They had live moths mating which produce the worms.
Here are all the worms just starting to eat.
After they get big enough they place them on these racks where they make their cocoons.
They eventually get pretty puffy and look like corn puffs or something.
In the olden days they used a bunch of branches bundled together. These ones are over 100 years old said the guide.
Here are the killing fields. Those are the guides exact words, we found it pretty funny but werent sure if it was too insensitive so it was a super awkward chuckle. After they get to the right size they put them outside in the sun to kill the worm inside before it tries to eat its way out. The cocoon is one single strand of silk wrapped around so if it ate its way out then it would break the thread. When it is the rainy season they put the in hot water to kill them off.
On the left you can see them unwinding the raw silk which is the outside layer, it is more rough and used in cheaper silk products. On the right is them unwinding the fine silk which is the inside layer that is stronger and softer, used in more expensive silk products.
After they dry it off they use a bunch of different products to dye it. all of them natural things like bark and different leaves. Most of the colours they throw a rusty nail in to make it a slightly darker shade.
For some of the silk they dye it very specific colours that have to stay in order while they are weaving to make a specific pattern.
Some how she manages to keep it in order and make a very nice scarf.
They only employ people in the area and teach them the art of making silk because lots of the knowledge was lost when a generation was wiped out during the Khmer Rouge.
After a couple years of learning they go and start their own loom in their homes and sell them to Artisans of Angkor to tell to the public. I ended up buying a silk phone case which has come in pretty useful to keep sand off my phone and iPod and I figured since they did give me a free tour I should buy something. which I guess was their plan.
Such an ancient art ... lucky you. I would love to see this.
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