August 29-30, 2022 – Faculty of Agriculture, Khon Kaen University organized a workshop: “Silk Cleaning and Dyeing” by using materials found in nature in the community. The event was under the community development project by circular economy (U2T for BCG) and was carried out at Non Sila-at Monastery, Pa Manao Sub-district, Ban Fang District, Khon Kaen.
The project was aimed at increasing potentiality and competitive competency in the entrepreneurs’ BCG production and services through developing and extending community products and services with the use of technology and innovation in order to sustainably and environmentally increase the value of community’s goods.
This workshop featured real practices in cleaning sericin from silk and dyeing silk using naturally found materials. Participants were sericulture entrepreneurs in Pa Manao community who are interested to acquire more skills and knowledge in dyeing silk. The objectives of the training were to increase and upgrade the quality of their products and add values to indigenous silk produced in the community. The entrepreneurs are usually weaving silk by hand and using chemicals for dyeing. They sell their products within the community only. From now on, they can change their production process by using natural dyes. The products will be more valuable with the community’s identity added. In so doing, their markets can be expanded to high-end customers who usually see the importance of products that have been environmentally-friendly manufactured.
The training was conducted in two days. The first day was on boiling silk to remove sericin from silk by using alkali water, and extracting natural colors from marigold flowers, banana rhizome, bitter bush leaves, and the barks of Burmese ebony tree.
The second day was on dyeing the sericin-removed silk threads with the extracted coloring materials. Next, mordant was used, including iron rust, alum, lime and mud to make the color strongly bond to the silk thread and to add to the hue varieties.
The final session was the question and answer where trainers provided consultation and advices related to the problems confronted by the community in their silk making processes. The participants were also advised on the technique in weaving popular silk materials and the way to farm silk worms for standard silk materials.
Trainers included Assoc. Prof. Panupon Hongpakdee, Ph.D. and Asst. Prof. Supatchaya Nampila, Ph.D., two lecturers from the Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Khon Kaen University, who are the responsible experts for the project at Pa Manao Sub-district. The other guest trainers were Mr. Poramat Lao-wor, an officer who works on silk standard and Miss Patchara Wongkham-ud, an agricultural officer from the Academic and Technological Section of Khon Kaen Sericulture Center.
It was expected that the training would benefit people in Pa Manoa community in producing hand-woven silk with natural dyes. It was hoped that the silk produced at the community will be standardized with the Royal-given brand – Peacock, and that the market as well as values of the silk will be increased.
News: Yindee Tanyateerapong
