Episode: Thailand Part 2
Date: 22nd February
Story: Silk at Ban Prasat Village (Day 5)
Presenter: Nigel Ruck and Geraldine Chia

Thailand is renowned worldwide for its fine silk and Nigel and Geraldine visited a silk village to see the silk making process right from start to finish.

• There are a number of villages across Thailand that is dedicated to silk production. There are several stages to the silk making process.
• First, the silk worms are bred. Their staple diet is the leaves of mulberry trees.
• Once the silk worms reach maturity (around 25 days), the silkworm creates a cocoon.
• The cocoons are then put in boiling water.? Hot water dissolves the natural glue that holds the cocoons together.
• The silk is then unwound through a machine to produce a single thread. Each cocoon can make up to 300m of silk
• The threads are spun on a wheel to create a consistent gauge and texture.
• The threads are then soaked in hot water to remove impurities and dried in the sun.
• The silk is then dyed either in one colour or with several colours to create a ?tie dye? effect.
• It can take up to two weeks to make one piece of silk cloth.
• The products are then exported all over the world.

For more information:
Tourism Authority of Thailand
Suite 2002, Level 20, 56 Pitt Street
Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
Tel:  (61 2) 9247 7549       
Fax: (61 2) 9251 2465
Email: info@thailand.net.au
Website: www.thailand.net.au