(Baonghean.vn) - Nghe An is home to many traditional mulberry and silkworm farming villages. In addition to creating jobs and stable income for thousands of workers, these craft villages are also places to preserve traditional local cultures.
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Mr. Nguyen Trong Giap's family in Hamlet 10, Nghia Dong Commune (Tan Ky) has nearly 20 years of experience in growing mulberry and raising silkworms. Last year, his family raised 7-9 batches of silkworms, yielding 100 kg of cocoons; with a selling price of 70,000 VND/kg of yellow cocoons and 120,000 VND/kg of white cocoons, he earned about 20 million VND, after deducting expenses, he still made a profit of 14-15 million VND. Photo: Phuong Thuy |
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Silkworms are a “difficult” breed, and breeders must be diligent and passionate about the profession to survive. The growth cycle of a silkworm is 25 days, harvesting one batch of cocoons. Although silkworm farming does not bring in as much profit at one time as other farming activities, it provides a regular income because it lasts from February to October. Photo: Phuong Thuy |
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The incubation process takes place in about 5 - 8 days. According to Mr. Tran Van Nga in Hamlet 3, Dang Son, (Do Luong) - a person with nearly 20 years of experience in the profession, if the silkworms are not produced in time, they will hatch into butterflies, so it is necessary to produce urgently. Currently, people have found a way to overcome this by putting the cocoons in a cold house (about 16 degrees Celsius) to slow down the hatching process from 10 - 16 days. Photo: Phuong Thuy |
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Xuan Nhu mulberry village, Dang Son commune (Do Luong) is one of the villages famous for its traditional silk reeling and spinning. Currently, in Xuan Nhu, there are 6 families forming large-scale silk reeling and spinning groups, creating jobs for nearly 60 workers, not to mention other small silk reeling points. These days, people are focusing on production to create quality cocoons and silk products. Photo: Phuong Thuy |
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The silk spinning workshop of Mr. Tran Van Tai's family in Dang Son commune is one of the six workshops in Xuan Nhu craft village, famous for creating quality silk. Photo: Phuong Thuy |
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To achieve a productivity of 3.5 - 4 kg of silk per day, the people of Xuan Nhu craft village have invested in building boilers, replacing the previous coal-burning technology with firewood-burning, saving costs and increasing efficiency. Photo: Phuong Thuy |
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To have a quality product, when the silkworms are forming cocoons, the breeder must dry them in the sun and dry them so that the cocoons are dry, fragrant and do not dissolve when reeled, giving a golden silk thread, which is convenient for the reeler. Photo: Phuong Thuy |
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After the silk reeling process, the cocoons are taken out to dry in the sun for 2-3 days. The drier they are, the shinier the silk will be and the longer it can be preserved. The current price of yellow silk is 600,000 VND/kg, white silk is 860,000 VND/kg. Photo: Phuong Thuy |
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Silkworm pupae are one of the favorite dishes of many people, because of their high nutritional value. Silkworm pupae are currently priced from 50,000 - 70,000 VND/kg. Photo: Phuong Thuy |
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With favorable land conditions, people in Dang Son commune have long been involved in the profession of growing mulberry and raising silkworms. Currently, the whole commune has about 40 households participating in growing mulberry with an area of nearly 30 hectares. Since the beginning of the spring crop, the commune's silkworm cocoon products have reached about 7.5 tons (of which 4.5 tons are produced locally), contributing to increasing the income of households. Photo: Phuong Thuy |
Phuong Thuy