Laos Vientiane Mulberry Plants Silk Worms Farm
Video of mulberry farm where silk worms are also cultivated. The farm is a joint venture operated between the Japanese and Lao Government with the aim of developing the country's silk production. Copyright MaxMediaAsia/Susan Yu
ໄປເບິ່ງຕະຫຼາດສົດໃນວຽງຈັນ, ລາວ. Ausie Market, Vientiane, Laos.
ໄປເບີ່ງຕະຫຼາດສົດໃນວຽງຈັນ, ລາວ. Ausie Market, Vientiane, Laos.ตะหลาดสดในเวียงจัน ลาว
Laos Silk mulberries.org
Fair trade silk production in the remote villages of Laos.
Our farm in Vientiane, Laos
Our farm in Vientiane, Laos. June 2011.
Morinda citrifolia at Vientiane Organic Market
Mak Yor (ໝາກຍໍ) at Famers' Organic Market in Vientiane, Laos. English name for this fruit include the followings: great morinda, Indian mulberry, noni, beach mulberry, and cheese fruit.
Magic Lao Carpets helps local women to soar
Each strand of finest silk is carefully and artistically inserted into a pattern by the skilful hands of young women working on vertical looms, and there is an average of 400,000 knots per square metre in these masterpieces from Laos.
The product is the silk carpet from Magic Lao Carpets Handicrafts. Each carpet is handmade and unique, and takes from one month to three years to complete by the young women making each piece priceless.
The owner of Magic Lao Carpets Handicrafts, Mrs Souvita Praseurth, describes each carpet as a masterpiece. “The clients normally have to order and wait because each piece takes some time to produce, but our clients know that.”
It is an artistic product, and not like other normal handicrafts. “We can make about 100 square metres a year, and we cannot do it more because they are handmade and our talented workers can only do a limited amount of work. It is hard to expand the business as it needs skilled workers,” she said.
Established in 1998, Magic Lao Carpets Handicrafts is a family business that has expanded over the years. It was set up to introduce carpet-weaving in Laos, which is known for its amazing textiles. Ancient traditions of carpet-making have found their way into the skilful hands of local weavers, giving Lao silk a new life.
“I got the inspiration from my family. They noticed that Lao women, especially from my grandmother’s generation who cannot even read, are very talented in making complicated textile patterns. It is hard to use computers to do those complicated designs but they did it by hand,” said Mrs Souvita.
“There was no carpet production in Laos at the time, and we thought we could do it even though they were more complicated than textile patterns.”
So she hired people to teach local women how to make carpets. “At first, I didn’t think about this as a business, but I just wanted to know about it because we like handicrafts,” she said.
“Then I thought it might create income for Lao women, and we started the business and expanded it.”
The carpets are made according to the highest standards of carpet-weaving and incorporate authentic, original design patterns inspired by traditional Lao textile weaving.
The technique used is nearly 3,000 years old. First, the silk is carefully selected. Next, silk threads are spun by hand and then the silk yarn is dyed. Carpets are made on a vertical loom by hand-tying knots of silk yarn around pairs of warps (vertical strings running through the length of the carpet).
The material used is mulberry silk. “We now also have a mulberry plantation. We start from the beginning to the end of the process but we still don’t have enough silk to meet our needs,” she said.
Careful quality control at every stage of production ensures the outstanding quality of the products. “From selection of the best local silk, hand-spinning and dyeing, to the last trimming of a finished carpet, we pay special attention to the quality of all materials and processes,” she said.
Mrs Souvita currently has about 40 talented staff, of whom 25 percent are disabled people. “They used to be a burden on their families but now they have become the supporters of their families. This why I’m so proud and it has been the purpose of our business from the beginning,” she said.
“Actually, I want them to learn and move out to start their own businesses and strengthen their communities. But only a few do that, most of them are still with us. We welcome any people without opportunities who want to learn about producing carpets. They can contact us and we will be happy to teach them,” she said.
Mrs Souvita said 95 percent of the firm’s products are exported, mostly to Europe, Scandinavia, North America, Middle East, Australia, Japan and Asia.
“The interest of clients has increased every year but we cannot increase the quantity. The clients know us from word of mouth and also from our website,” she said.
The products from Magic Lao Carpets Handcrafts have received many awards in Laos and overseas such as the Good Design Award from Japan.
“Recently we were awarded the first prize at the Lao Handicraft Festival. It was for a pattern which we called the wave of life. It is a unique piece as it combines old designs and new techniques,” said Mrs Souvita.
“We continually improve and develop our products and this is the reason we have the trust of clients and get awards from different countries,” she added.
Magic Lao Carpets Handcrafts is now shifting towards using natural dyes. “We already have a number of carpets made with silk dyed with natural dyes. These dyes are produced in Laos, from different plants,” she said.
By Keoxomphou Sakdavong
Mulberries Organic Silk Farm [Fair Trade Video #43]
Video produced by:
Mulberries is a not-for-profit company that seeks to create income generating opportunities for Lao people in a socially and environmentally responsible manner.
More about their work here:
Fair Trade Connection stayed at the Mulberries organic silk farm for 5 days to make this video and tell you their story.
This fair trade video is subjected to copyrights, it cannot be broadcasted nor used in any case without explicit permission granted by Fair Trade Connection. You can contact us using the link to our blog here above.
Roselle Plant, Vientiane, Laos
Picking fruits from Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) plant at a garden in Vientiane, Laos. In Lao language, the plant is call Som Phor Dee (just sour enough, roughly translation).
S2-Ep4 - Mulberry farm life around Phrae
Abra and Jess grab the train in Chiang Mai and head four hours south to Den Chai, where they spend a few glorious days at a mulberry farm and exploring life around Phrae province, Thailand!
Tan Your Mind 2 Thailand is an opXproduction series sponsored by our partners in adventure
AMAZING THAILAND
CATHAY PACIFIC
OSPREY PACKS
CHACOS
Mulberry Farm at Lipa
Mulberry Farm at Lipa
Check this alterantive venue for special occassion and events located at Tangway, Lipa City. Aside from various plants and mulberry, their location has a lot of beautiful amenities that will satisty kids and adults.
Mulberry Nursery Production
Large Scale Mulberry Nursery Production is going on at CPP-Alangudi under Research Extension Centre,Central Silk Board,Trichy
Laos Vientiane Silk Worm Farm and Silk Production
Lao people working at silk worm farm run by the Lao and Japanese Government.Copyright MaxMediaAsia/Susan Yu
Mulberries Silkfarm in Phonsavan
Mulberries Silkfarm in Phonsavan (
Mulberry farm (farm visit)
Mulberry farm in batangas city
Mulberry Silk farm Lucy_and_adele's photos around Muang Phônsavan, Lao Peoples Dem Rep
Preview of Lucy_and_adele's blog at TravelPod. Read the full blog here:
This blog preview was made by TravelPod using the TripAdvisor™ TripWow slideshow creator.
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Laos - Vientiane
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Route 11 Drive, Vientiane, Laos
Driving on Route 11 from the center of Vientiane (ນະຄອນຫຼວງວຽງຈັນ) to Xanakham (Xanamkhan on google map), Laos along the Mekong River. I mostly took pictures using my mobile phone. This is just a short clip showing the nice scenery of the trip.
Vang Vieng Organic Farm Laos: Roundview from the mulberry-field
From this point you can see the three mud-houses in a row and the mulberry-tree-house.
???????? 7 MUST-EATS in VIENTIANE, Laos
Art Thomya, a Thai singer/songwriter will show you the 7 Must-Eats in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. Art was accompanied by his local friends from Vientiane who are eager to show you the charms of their hometown. Let's take this journey together!
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7 Must-Eats / Drinks in VIENTIANE, Laos
#1 Le Trio Coffee :
#2 Espresso Cafe :
#3 Benoni Cafe :
#4 Joma :
#5 Naked Espresso :
#6 Vieng Nam Nueng :
#7 Khop Chai Deu :
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