Silk Enterprise Sustainability – November, 2024 – This was written for the ASEAN Traditional Textiles Symposium panel discussion on silk business sustainability. The material came from a comprehensive report written by Cornelia Bagg Srey in July of 2023 identifying problems facing the producers of chorabab brocade in Cambodia.
In 2023 silkworms died in the extreme heat of climate change. But in 2024, only some of them died. Breed these heat-resistant survivors.
Buy metal looms instead of wooden looms (a tasty snack for termites).
Most chorabab is made with black warp thread. Producers buy white thread and dye it black; instead, they could look for a source of black thread. And, make more products with undyed thread (such as nylon gold thread and white silk thread). This saves time and money, and reduces the amount of dye wastewater going into the environment.
Teach critical thinking and “work smart” techniques. An example would be as described above - buying black warp thread instead of buying white thread and dying it black.
So that weavers can network with those in other areas, teach map reading. In the 1970’s map-reading was part of the school curriculum in Cambodia, but it was taken out.
New products are developed to increase tourist sales. Develop new products for the local market. One chorabab weaver has had good success selling evening wraps to both markets.
Ex-pat markets can be lucrative. Some stores in Cambodia sell to Cambodians living overseas via Facebook. These businesses survived the pandemic.
When developing new products, use traditional patterns. If a producer simplifies patterns, yes, he can sell them to tourists, yes, he makes a profit, yes, the tourist goes home happy, and yes, he or she has been sold genuine handwoven silk. However, the weaver stops making the traditional patterns in order to make the simplified ones. This contributes to the loss of traditional patterns.
Some weavers move to distant provinces when they marry. One chorabab producer sends a loom with them; they return finished pieces to her via bus freight, and she sends thread back to them.
One chorabab pattern setter has learned to work faster and reduce eye strain by using a tablet to magnify the pattern she is setting.
In Cambodia, selling on consignment often results in producers not being paid. If they organize, and all refuse to sell on consignment, this would eliminate the problem.
Be sure older weavers have reading glasses so that they can prolong their careers if they choose to, and continue to pass their knowledge on.
Vaccinate weavers to minimize downtime from illness. They should have: TDAP (tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis), Japanese Encephalitis, Covid-19 booster (every 6 months), Typhoid, Hepatitis A and B, Polio, MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella), Pneumonia, Influenza. For those over age 50, Shingles (Shingrix vaccine). (No vaccine currently recommended for Dengue.) Weavers may be able to get vaccinations at government clinics – less expensive, more convenient.
Teach weavers to wear light-colored clothing that covers arms and legs, and avoid going outside at dawn and dusk, to minimize mosquito-borne diseases (such as Dengue, for which there is no recommended vaccination at present).
Use volunteers. I got a doctor to volunteer his time to advise me what vaccinations Cambodian weavers should have. I got neighbors in California to collect reading glasses from their churches and offices.
To attract trainees, make weaving a more respected profession. Some countries have a Living Human Treasures program, like Japan’s. A category for silk production could be added, with media publicity.