VietNamNet Bridge – Driving away from daily hustle in Saigon, we arrive in Dalat in a rainy morning. The resort town is where busy people come find peace and tranquility, where pluviophiles find the joy of feeling the rain running on their skin, and where mulberry leaves become silk gowns.
Cocoons are put into hot water to loosen the tightly woven filaments
At 7 a.m., after a delicious breakfast of hot peanut milk and meatball baguettes, I hop on a bus to a silk mill which is about 25km from the center. The tour guide promises a fascinating experience. Dalat’s silk industry remains mostly family based.
In the past, silk production, or sericulture, was considered an unique culture of Asia.
I enter an active silk farm, where I could freely learn about silk making processes, and spoil myself purchasing hand-made silk clothing, as well as silk-filled duvets.
I am given a cocoon which looks like a puffy cotton ball. You are not allowed to enter the mulberry bushes cultivation area where caterpillars spin silk cocoons around themselves. These silk worms are extremely sensitive to humans’ temperatures, noise and fragrance. It is a big “No” to even coming near the area if you wear perfume or if you are easy to get sweat.
Silkworms are clever little creatures. They eat anything, but they only produce silk when eating mulberry. Once the silkworm stops growing, it produces a very thin thread wrapping around itself, creating the cocoon that eventually turns into a butterfly. You might be surprised to know that it takes 3,000 cocoons to make one pound of super-fine silk. A fine piece is made thanks to 3,000 to-be butterflies. No wonder why in the past, the best Chinese bark (a particular kind of silk) cost as much as a Roman soldier’s salary for an entire year. In the factory, cocoons are put into hot water to loosen the tightly woven filaments. The thread is then wound onto a reel, which is used on a large loom, to weave into delicately patterned fabric.
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A photo featuring thousands of cocoons Thread is wound onto a reel, which is used on a large loom, to weave into delicately patterned fabric Thread taken from cocoons – Photos: Phan Cac Truc |
The process of producing silk is almost unchanged today. The craving of silk keeps increasing over the centuries though it is much affordable nowadays. Still, it needs great devotion, care and patience to feed and take care of silkworms for months before unraveling, weaving, dyeing and embroidering silk pieces.
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