The story of silkworms spinning silk and the path to preserving traditional crafts.

One sunny Sunday afternoon, bathed in golden light, I found myself at a humble, traditional house nestled within the grounds of the Van Ho Exhibition Center. Not far from the capital's busiest area, this place possessed a classic, gentle beauty, subtly reminiscent of a tranquil Vietnamese village. A charming conical hat hung from a clump of cool green bamboo, tall trees cast their shade, allowing tiny rays of sunlight to fall directly onto the porch – all inviting and leading me into a magical world of traditional colors.

That day, I attended Hanhsilk's "Exploring Nam Cao Silk" workshop with excitement and a touch of curiosity about the silkworm farming and weaving craft.

Growing mulberry trees, raising silkworms, weaving cloth.

In a spacious yet intimate and cozy setting, I listened to the story of the silk and raw silk weaving process at the Nam Cao Cooperative in Thai Binh province – one of the capitals of the textile industry. Before this, my understanding of this long-standing traditional craft was limited to feeding silkworms mulberry leaves, harvesting cocoons, extracting silk, and weaving it into fabric – but that was only a brief summary of an incredibly complex process.

To ensure optimal silkworm development, as the silkworms are about to spin their cocoons, farmers must wake up at 4 am to pick large, hand-sized mulberry leaves to feed them. This process is repeated at 3 pm to ensure a sufficient supply of fresh, nutritious leaves for the hardworking silkworms. After five life cycles and four molts, the silkworms begin spinning their cocoons. The cocoons are woven from the outside in until they are fully formed, marking the end of the silkworm's life and its transformation into a pupa. Before the pupa grows into a caterpillar and breaks free from its cocoon, the farmer must cut the cocoon to begin the silk reeling process.

Perhaps, when mentioning silk, many people will picture a soft, smooth, and silky material. However, in reality, the same silk thread can produce products with vastly different textures, from soft and light like satin to rough and rustic like raw silk. This is mainly determined by the silk reeling technique. While machine reeling produces high yields and thick, uniform, and smooth threads, manual reeling in a pot of water produces thicker threads that are slightly coarser but still soft and glossy. The most labor-intensive and skilled method is probably reeling raw silk threads. The cocoons must be soaked in cold water for 3-5 hours to soften them, then the threads are meticulously pulled by hand. On average, a person can only reel 0.7 to 1 ounce of raw silk thread per day, much less than with manual or machine reeling. Despite its coarse texture and lack of sheen and smoothness compared to silk, raw silk still holds great appeal due to its natural, rustic, and breathable properties.

The silk threads are then spun together to adjust the thickness and woven into various types of fabrics with diverse textures, softness, drape, sheen, etc. Newly woven fabrics have a natural color, slightly off-white. Depending on the needs, people will either keep the original color of the fabric or dye it with natural materials such as leaves and fruits to create vibrant and eye-catching colors.

Listening to stories about traditional weaving, watching the diligent silkworms feed on leaves and spin their silk, and touching the soft silk products in a warm and cozy atmosphere, everyone felt a deeper appreciation for a beautiful aspect of the nation's traditional culture. With all the love and dedication of the artisans to this traditional craft, these silk fabrics are born. More than just a product, they are the embodiment of the Vietnamese soul, carrying within them diligence, authenticity, simplicity, and innocence.

Reviving the allure of traditional crafts.

Today, with the explosion of technology and digitalization, young people are overwhelmed by new entertainments and countless imported products, while traditional handicrafts are somewhat overshadowed.

However, it's important to recognize that it's not that traditional crafts are "boring," but rather that their appeal has diminished, perhaps due to insufficient media coverage to compete with other models. Young people born and raised in urban areas largely lack the opportunity to interact with, understand, and connect with traditional craft villages. Meanwhile, much of the information online is theoretical or lacks the appeal and curiosity to spark young people's exploration. Therefore, it's understandable that they are drawn to more distant pursuits instead of finding joy in traditional cultural activities like weaving.

In recent years, many individuals and groups have become increasingly active in organizing experiential workshops with the desire to bring traditional culture closer to young people while reviving beautiful memories for the older generation. The "Exploring Nam Cao Silk" workshop is also an effort to spread pride in a traditional craft that has existed for thousands of years.

Ms. Thanh Hanh, Founder of Hanhsilk, shared: "I've always been concerned about how to bring unique Vietnamese products, made with diligent, meticulous, and creative hands, closer to communities both domestically and internationally. That's also how I express my love and pride for my country and its people, and it's the main motivation behind organizing the series of workshops and tours exploring traditional craft villages that I'm currently running."

According to Ms. Hanh, the appeal of silk products lies not only in their "beauty" but also in their breathability and, most importantly, their environmental friendliness. While materials commonly used in fast fashion take up to 200 years to decompose, silk only needs 6 months to a year. Thanks to its high protein content and the complete absence of chemicals, after decomposition it replenishes nutrients in the soil and nourishes the natural cycle.

It can be said that the efforts of individuals like Ms. Hanh in preserving traditional crafts have yielded some results. The workshop "Exploring Nam Cao Silk" attracted dozens of participants, from young children aged 7-10 to young adults, parents, and even older people. Regardless of generation, deep down they likely still harbor a love and interest in traditional art, and opportunities to engage with and experience it are what they are always seeking.

Ha Thu