We asked our tuk-tuk driver to take us to a place where we could see how silk was made…since we had no idea…and he suggested Artisans D’Angkor, a short ride on the outskirts of Siem Reap.
I think we had sort of viewed Artisans D’Angkor in our guide books as an “eh” destination. As in it might be interesting, but it could feel too touristy or artificial. I have to say, we had such a wonderful time! They do such a fantastic job showing the process of making silk fabrics.
Artisans D’Angkor is a pretty large organization, but I think they do a legitimate job trying to achieve their mission: to preserve traditional Khmer skills, and to improve the future of the Cambodian people. Artisans D’Angkor trains young people with limited or no education, as apprentices, to then work in their workshops or find employment elsewhere. They also offer opportunities to those with disabilities.
Artisans d’Angkor was an off-shoot, from my understanding, of a development program started by the EU to improve job opportunities for the next generation of Khmer in the early 1990’s. According to their website, Artisans d’Angkor now provides jobs for 1300 people. They have 41 workshops doing different types of Khmer crafts.
But on to the awesomeness that is Artisans d’Angkor, in particular, their silk farm. Here goes my non-scientific and probably not completely correct recollection. It all starts with these little silk worms (Bombyx mori, to be exact). These little fellas are raised in captivity (hence the “farm”), where they are given all the food they could possibly desire. Eventually they make cocoons (the yellow fuzzy things). These cocoons are then boiled, which creates sort of a sticky fibrous mess. This allows the fibers to be captured and spun. It is here they separate the silk into different grades (fine silk and the rougher silk). The silk is then spun into bundles and reels, so it is easy to dye without tangling. After dyeing, the silk goes to the weavers who craft their works.
It was absolutely incredible to see the amount of work that went into one silk scarf. I may sound like a clueless blonde, but I had no idea–really–how intensive the process is for making silk products. It was amazing to watch the artisans, who worked so quickly that sometimes it was hard to figure out what their hands were doing.
Not to mention the store at Artisans d’Angkor! Oh, the colors. Oh, the patterns. I spent what seemed like hours looking around. Their prices are high, but their silk is to die for. I totally wish I had sprung for a beautiful dress in addition to the awesome pillow-covers I purchased. Just a reason to go back! Plus, sometimes they have products from their artisans in training that are almost perfect, and hugely discounted.
Artisans d’Angkor uses 100% silk from the farmed worms and each piece is woven by hand. There is lots of “silk” in Cambodia, but do some research if you want to buy high quality items, as many are blended or use imported silk which may be of a different quality. I don’t know if it exists–but we didn’t see any high quality, 100% silk, that was hand woven that was inexpensive. Not to see that the other stuff isn’t beautiful, just buyer beware so you get what you are interested in.
We definitely thought Artisans d’Angkor was a worthy stop in Siem Reap for a few hours!
Have you visited a silk farm or Artisans d’Angkor? I’d love to hear about your experiences or their other workshops.
