Silk farm Cambodia
Silk farming in small farms is common since hundreds of years in Cambodia. A brief picture introduction to silk worm farming and silk production. May be something to introduce to your own area as well? Learn the basic procedures included in silk worm farming and silk production to appreciate the hard labor involved in beautiful natural silk garments.
To make it short - silk farming and the entire process of production and weaving from cocoons to the final product is time intensive and boring work. Nothing you wish to do for many years. Silk production is rather something for a few weeks or maximum few months a year during rainy season, etc. A commercial silk production by humans lacks quality of life and thus never is meant to be done by humans as a full time job! As a short time job in villages, wives producing some silk while husbands are doing hard work in fields or forests - may be an acceptable part time activity. Mainly for producing own silk garments and a few extra silk pieces to trade against other missing products or tools in a native community. But silk weaving or the entire process from cocoon to final garments is far too boring and time intense to be made for profits of rich business men.
A typical Cambodian woman working in silk farms may earn some 90 US $ per months. Too little for a happy life. The work demands a high level of concentration to avoid mistakes in production or weaving work.
The tools used in Cambodian silk farms are traditional mainly hand made simple tools. Hence low technology easily affordable by any local community. Most or all of the tools can be hand made by local carpenters / husbands. Thus silk farming is a family or small community activity as an additional add on revenue in addition to regular farming.
Life cycle from mating to cocoon to silk
Life cycle from mating - cocoons - silk
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Silk farm in Siem Reap - Cambodia
A brief overview of silk farming work
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1 cocoon has a single thread of 400 meter silk
It is needless to state that silk products are unaffordable by silk workers. The silk products are but for richest ones. To make the silk dress affordable by richest ones at a bargain price, only the very poorest in this worlds work for the Cambodian silk industry. Most of the rich silk industry customers never would work a single day for the salary a woman has in a full month. Silk industry is for bare survival, never for fun of a country. The work demands high level of concentration all day long. That is the reason why the production facility is completely quiet. No talking, no joking, no smiling eyes - just hard working women spending their lives to satisfy the hunger of rich world for luxury items such as exclusive hand made silk garments.
