SILK ARTISANS

"Raise pigs for napping meals,

Raise silkworms to forever stand vigil." 

  The age-old sericulture profession has always been laborious - rising before dawn to gather fresh mulberry leaves, washing and mincing them as feed for the ravenous young worms, then meticulously nurturing them until they commence spinning their cocoons...Next comes reeling the silk filaments, warping the looms, weaving the fabric, degumming the raw silk, dyeing it, and sun drying it. An endless cycle from dawn till dusk. 

Arduous as it seems, anyone visiting the silk villages and conversing with sericulture farmers or weavers witnesses their beaming smiles and innocent exuberance when recounting their inherited calling. Their simple joys arise from witnessing shimmering cocoon strands emerging, watching intricate patterns gradually materialize with each weft shuttle pass, achieving the perfect natural dye hue or simply from hosting visitors through their weaving workshops.

The silk trade has had its ebbs and flows, with no shortage of hardships, yet the steadfast artisans never conceded defeat. They banded together into silk village cooperatives, forging regional connections nationwide to collaboratively support one another's development and withstand challenging periods when Vietnamese silk struggled to maintain its domestic standing.

Today, the melodic clacking of looms still rhythmically punctuates silk village soundscapes, interwoven with villagers' jovial banter and peals of laughter, while plump cocoon mountings bear witness to a burgeoning silk harvest season.