There are free guided tours on the how Cambodian silk is produced, after the tour and witnessing the work put in, I guess I can understand why silk products fetch such a premium. The tough part was trying to take photos and listen to the very informative guide at the same time.
Adult moths die soon after mating, with the female moths producing around 200 eggs.
The hatched silkworms are fed on a variety of mulberry leaves, some imported from countries like China, some locally grown. The silkworms are housed in netted rooms to protect them from mosquitos and flies.
On the final stage of maturity, the silkworms will start to spin a cocoon around themselves.
It was said that the boiled silkworms can actually be consumed, but I did not notice that when I was there.
The threads are then dyed using materials like, among others, tree barks.
http://www.artisansdangkor.com
Hello Mr Tan! this is Sheryl ng.firstly thanks for the class tee=] love it lots! The pics u put r so interesting.i finally knew how silk r made..=]Mr Tan i have a question for you, the boiled silkworms can be consumed but will you really eat?
Hmm..I think i will eat a few to see how its like.
If you have been to Thailand, you would actually see road stalls selling fried insects; do give them a try if you can, they don’t taste to bad (the grasshoppers tasted like ikan bilis) and are a good source of protein.
you mean you ACTUALLY tried the grasshoppers??! what else have you eaten? i heard that cockroaches have lots of proteins in them=D
Yup, grasshoppers, larvae, and some sort of water beatles. All taste about the same, because the same seasoning was used. But I prefer the texture of the grasshoppers and larvae. The water beatles……hard on the outside and a bit mushy inside…..not too nice…hahah
ohh i see,but no offence it sounds abit disgusting but i will try=].thanks if i ever go Thailand i will give it a try,but water Beatles seems like it taste horrible.haha
Sart with the larva or grasshoppers as a warm up..much easier to swallow…=)
Hello Mr. Tan! Hehe…I didn’t know you have such great skills in photography! Dumbstruck!!! But i wanted to say.. you have been a GREAT teacher! I hated maths,,but when you started teaching 1D..i absolutely love maths and aced! thank you~and yes, i really think it’s absolutely wonderful that you are going to Cambodia to do such a good deed. Bye!
Hi Nabillah! Well, taking photos is just a hobby of mine, and can be improved if we
1) practise frequently
2) review your work from time to time and most importantly
3) try to have fun doing it
which is totally like doing maths!
The application for the Cambodia project has not gone through yet, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed. =)
hope you get that application! do come back to SJC when you return to Singapore~but maybe that will mean we graduated..but nevermind..
will frequently come by here to check on your updates! and to check out new photos.. haha
Graduated by the time I return? I don’t think I’ll be away from Singapore that long,=) perhaps only for some months/weeks at a stretch.
Good luck in whatever you’re doing, you’re helping and giving to the society with a genuine reason, and I’ll remember you by as the thoughtful MrTan that is ‘powerful and a little rich’
Hope you go back to being a teacher after your adventure.
Hi Vanessa! Thanks for visiting, hmmm… “powerful and a little rich”? I like the sound of that! =)
Ahhh, you were the one that stated that on the last day of school. I merely quoted it from you^^ Hope you enjoy the 3 days and 2 nights with us at the chalet.
Hi Mr Tan, I have a question. the silk threads are hand woven. Do they use their hands to weave the threads or they work with machines or needles? It look difficult and takes a lot of effort to weave after i saw that “silk cloth” picture you posted. The designs looked rather complicated.
Hi Carmen!
I do have some pictures on the silk weaving process but I think that this youtube link will explain it better.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpi0e6Os9Zk
Machine-wise, it is not what you expected.
Note that the weaver is sliding the silk thread and compacting them repeatedly. Imagine how much effort it takes to make an item even as small as a scarf, and then you’ll appreciate why it costs so much. =)
Hi mr tan, it is sure amazing at how they operate the wooden “machine”.from this video, I can tell how they weave the silk. But I can’t really tell which part of it is the silk cloth. =D Thank you for the video.
You see the greyish (?) colour cloth just infront of the weaver? That was the silk cloth.
Originally, there are just vertical strands of silk, (imagine all the lines are connected vertically)
I I I I I I I I I I I
I I I I I I I I I I I
I I I I I I I I I I I
I I I I I I I I I I I
Then threads of silk will be slided left and right (starting from the bottom) so that the silk interlock.
I I I I I I I I I I I
————————>
I I I I I I I I I I I
<————————
I I I I I I I I I I I
Hope this cheapo illustration makes more sense! hahah
Ahh! I can tell which one is the Silk cloth.
Thank you for the diagrams. it really does take alot of effort to make a scarf like you said! It requires skills? ??
Yes, you’ll appreciate why the prices are relatively high. Just a note of caution, make sure that the ones you are buying are actually the real stuff because there are fake ones out there…
Mr Tan!
To think i would even stumble upon this page. Heehee (:
Your photography skills are real good. The photos taken are really amazing and they do tell alot!
I guess i will be following on with all your posts in the future from now on. Continue to post more wonderful photos and entries!
Hope you have fun in your future trips and do take care Mr Tan, the-chem+maths+photography-master! (:
Cheers!
~Elysia (:
Elysia!
What a pleasant surprise to see you here. haha.
Glad to find that the photos appealed to you, I’m definitely not a master by far, but still playing around with this hobby.
Enjoy your holidays, its one of the few where there are no homework. =)
Feel free to drop by anytime and keep in contact!
Yupyup! Must keep in contact!
You will become a master one day, that’s definite. HAHA
Have fun (:
Lovely Silks! I like the purple ones!
первое что хотел сказать о space-shop.org:
1. реально сайт не кидает;
2. работают оперативно (днём заказал товар, вечером уже отправили заказ);
3. что всё было точно так же как и обещенно…я имею в виду по кол-ву и по цене;
4. дошло всё мега быстро… (пришло за 6 дней… не смотря на то что я с дв) спасибо работникам почты));
5. и последнее то что можно отслеживать самому ход доставки товара…
P.s. в общем молодцы, спасибо вам)) обращусь к вам и ещё не раз))