Approximate 20km west of Dalat is a silk factory, a popular place for day trippers from Dalat or Easy Rider tours. It is just off DT725, turning left. There are some signs for this places. There is plenty of space to park the bike on the front square of the site.
This factory contains the whole production of the silk, from breeding silk worms to making tapestry.
The first part of the factory is the small building ahead of the main factory hall. Here you can see how the silk worms are bred and the silk is produced from the cocoon. Seeing the life cycle of those worms turning into moth, producing silk cocoons is rather fascinating.
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- Feeding time for silk worms
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- The worms have done their work – leaving the needed cocoons behind
After seeing this process it is time to move towards the main factory, a rather larger hall. In here there are several large machines where the cocoons are put into water the individual silk strains are taken from these cocoons by the machine. It still requires manual assistance here, as it is not a high-tech silk factory. Any non used or damage cocoons are stored at the back and are used to lid fire in the factory, nothing goes to waste here.
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- The machines used to make silk from the cocoons
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- The most important ,material – the cocoons in the water
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- Silk patterns are produced as well
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- Producing silk embroideries
On this site the produced silk is also used to produce silk products, some machines there can even include patterns. And some locals are using the silk for the embroidery Vietnam is famous for.
Overall, the whole process line is set up as efficient as possible, and while it seems rather touristy, I found it a nice little stop when passing by. And if you are really brave, you can tick-off an item from your bucket list trying one of the little silk worms as a wee snack…