Wild silkworm landibe of Madagascar. Unique process of silk making handicraft step by step explained

In the highlands of central Madagascar people have long buried their deceased in #shrouds of thick wild silk.
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Landibe #silkworms eat the leaves of tapia (Uapaca bojeri), a tree found only in the highlands of Madagascar. Sometimes newly planted tapia is kept in cages to deter predators, including humans, from eating the silkworms.
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Madagascar’s #landibe #silkworm (Borocera cajani) often forms a #cocoon under leaves or branches. They look different from the pure white cocoons of the #mulberrysilkworms
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Silk #creation starts with turning several cocoons inside out atop a small wooden rod, sticking 6-7 together in a clump. The small balls are boiled in a pot of soapy water to soften and bind them together. Then are washed and let dry in the sun for a week.
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The silk workers spin then fibers into a single thin, uniform thread using slightly wet surface and the palms of their hands. 1 cocoon gives about 4 meters of thread. A skilled spinster can produce 40 meters of #silkthread per day.
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Next step is #Dyeing the threads. To obtain #bright colors, they sometimes use chemicals, but mostly #natural dyes. The #process involves cooking the #silk for several hours. Mushrooms give rich brown color. The #bark of the local #nonto tree produces a crimson red; #saffron yellow; eucalyptus leaves light, yellowish green; and mud from the rice fields produces black.
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After weeks of preparation, the #weaving can begin. It’s a painstaking process that some #weavers do by candlelight.
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The #handicraft of #silkmaking is receding in #madagascar due to lack of raw material. Main #problem is the forest fires caused by bandits called dahalo. They raid villages to steal cattle and then retreat, burning the forest behind them to cover their tracks. There are no fire departments in rural areas, so villagers are compelled to stop defending their possessions from bandits and instead focus on preventing the fire from reaching their houses.
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The #wildsilk became very popular with the tourists visiting #madagaskar so it provides an incentive for locals to #protect their unique trees and #wild silkworms.

Music: Denim
Musician: EnjoyMusic
Site: https://enjoymusic.ai

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