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In the villages life remains much as it has been for a long time; the villagers relying on growing their own rice, raising livestock and collecting items from the forest. Living is closely connected to nature and work is hard. Food security is tenuous and dependent upon the weather, the prevalence of diseases and pests, etc. Access to adequate health care and education is limited. |
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A development project supported by the German government has recently been working in the villages to assist the villagers improve their livelihoods. One potential for doing so is to use the villagers’ skills in producing silk and weaving to raise their incomes. |
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A village meeting to discuss development |
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The villagers have been organized into groups. Members have been exposed to the market through attendance at local craft fairs and have also received training to refine their weaving skills and introduce ideas for new designs. In order to ensure a good supply of high quality silk improved varieties of silk worms and mulberry trees have been introduced. |
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Training villagers about techniques and designs |
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As in much of Laos, silk production in the villages of the Muang Mai Weaving Group is carried out by the women, much as it has been for decades. Worms newly hatched from the eggs are placed on circular trays and given mulberry leaves to eat. The trays are covered with cloth and placed on shelves in the villagers’ houses, out of the way of domestic animals and pests. By the time the worms have reached the final stage they need to be fed up to 4 times a day. |
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Placing mulberry leaves on a trayfor the silk worms to feed on |
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| The cocoons are boiled and the silk thread is drawn off. The left over pupae are eaten. Some of the pupae are left alone to become moths that are kept in special cages so they can mate and produce more eggs for the next cycle |
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Boiling the cocoons to remove the silk |
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Natural silk comes in two colours: off-white and golden yellow. It can also be dyed using natural dyes. These come from many sources, found in the forest or grown by the villagers. |
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Red comes from two main sources: stick lac (produced by an insect) gives a deep burgundy, a deep pink is extracted from the “kok fang” tree. Many colours (off- white, light pink, green and light blue) are produced using the “hawm” plant. Which colour depends upon how long the silk is soaked in the dye and the addition of other plants or natural ingredients. Other sources for colour include the bark of the “wood tongue” tree (light brown), young teak leaves (pink) and fruit of the “kok saet” tree (orange). |
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Red dye obtained from the “fang daeng” tree |
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Weaving is carried out on simple home-made wooden looms outside or inside the villagers’ homes. The combs and shuttles used were traditionally hand-made by the villagers themselves but are increasing being purchased from the capital of Laos, Vientiane, where certain villages specialize in their production. |
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Weavers working at their looms under a house |
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