"Near the spinning and weaving area where the babies had swung in hammocks, there is a room where the pattern makers work with colourful dyes. Further out, near the mulberry trees, is a shed where the silkworms are raised. There is a vegetable garden to help feed the staff and a primary school for their children. Simple wooden homes are scattered throughout the forest, with some employees living on site and others cycling in from the surrounding countryside."
Cambodia is well known for its skillful silk weavers. It is primarily
farmers women in rural villages who weave beautiful silk combining traditional weaving and dyeing with innovative designs and techniques. Most silk weavers in the villages are near the national highway in the direction of Takeo town. The technique of silk weaving could have come to the Khmer during the Funan Empire, probably in the 2nd century, from India and China.
Weaving is very important work beside rice farming, women could not afford to support their family and send their children to school if base on rice farming only.
In the past, weaving skill was transferred only in the family's members. This knowledge is being lost. Now only old women in the rural continue this weaving while new generations are less interesting in silk weaving, immigrates to city and abroad with high risk to find a jobs, no training centre in rural, and less support from government.
Cambodian farmers women still make traditional silk all throughout the kingdom but for day tripping, it may convenient to visit several interesting places such as Pea-ream and Thnoat communes in Bati district, and Tang Yab and Say-va commune in the Samrong district of Takeo province. At Tang Yab villages, well know as a 'weaving handicraft village,' is on one of the largest village located nearby Chiso temple, it's about 4 kilometres from the leg of mountain, and is about 65 kilometres from Phnom Penh. The villagers have retained their traditional lifestyle based around their main handicraft, traditional silk weaving, Phamoung, Hol, Krama and cotton clothes. Visitors walking the villager trail around the village will hear the sound of looms emerging from every house. Their many good weaving products are available for visitors to order or just buy it from these producer hands with a reasonable price. Women now can generate an average of $75 per-month by weaving silk, a roughly one-third increase over the past.
Color Silk is a social enterprise currently they are working with more than 400 silk weavers where those are in Takeo province, mostly of women belonging to poor subsistence farming households. The silk weaving is an important occupation for most rural people who have only skills in silk weaving and could not survive if the weaving going to loss its market.
Helping to revive country’s silk weaving heritage, while empowering low-income women living in rural areas where livelihood options are few. Linking communities to international markets by work in closed collaboration with non- profit organisation and relevant stakeholder and partners in private sector to supply our silk products and extend our silk market. The Color Silk works to improve female silk weavers’ standard of living, local economic development, as well as to protect the environment and to provide environmental-friendly dye of silk products for public consumers.