Silk nursery and silk weaving in Co Chat village is famous in the South

Co Chat village (Truc Ninh, Nam Dinh) is famous throughout the region and far away for silkworm nursery and silk weaving. The lustrous golden and white silk threads weave the charming Vietnamese dresses.

The craftsman’s technique of brooding silk in the village of Co Chat is rare in any region. Silkworm cocoons must be carefully selected and classified before being put into the silk tractor. Cocoons have two types: the white cocoon and the golden cocoon, depending on the breed of silkworm. Any color cocoon will produce that color silk. The most common is the white cocoon because it produces a high quality, high value silk. (Photo: Bich Ha / Vietnam +) In the pot of boiling water evaporating, silkworm cocoons dance, the silk thread slowly crept into the small hole and rolled into the reel. The women and sisters quickly rinsed the water, adding cocoons to the pot so that the silk would not be interrupted. (Photo: Bich Ha / Vietnam +) This stage is usually performed by women. (Photo: Bich Ha / Vietnam +) Most of the village elders who are still attached to the profession still follow the craft method as a habit, love the profession or for a living. Whatever the reason, they are still passing on their passions and cultural identities to the next generation every day. (Photo: Bich Ha / Vietnam +) Mrs. Nguyen Thi Yen pondered: ‘In the past, there were 9 out of 10 families who worked as silk broiler. Now, the whole village has only 5-6 houses remaining. But probably no one is working at the end of the age class like her. Young people all go to other jobs. ‘ (Photo: Bich Ha / Vietnam +) Silk after drying will be bought by the weaving factories, spun and woven into fabric. Most of Co Chat village silk is exported to Thailand, India, Laos and in the country, there is Van Phuc silk village (Ha Dong). (Photo: Bich Ha / Vietnam +) The silk puller must stir the cocoon evenly, otherwise the thread will be too thick or too thin. If working at full capacity, a worker can pull 20 rolls of silk a day. (Photo: Bich Ha / Vietnam +) After pulling the silk, the worker must pick up all the impurities and wrap the silk mold smoothly and evenly. Silk rolls must be white and clean before they can be dried. (Photo: Bich Ha / Vietnam +) According to Mr. Pham Van Dong, who has 30 years of his or her attachment to the silk reeling profession in Co Chat village: ‘The difficulty of this profession is finding the output. Silk is predominantly preferred overseas than domestically. Meanwhile, people face many difficulties when borrowing capital, maintaining production, so they quit many jobs. ‘ During the 2-year outbreak of COVID-19, the silk weavers in Co Chat also struggled because the silk produced could not be exported abroad. (Photo: Bich Ha / Vietnam +) In the sun, the silk rolls glisten with gold, silvery, shiny, and soft. According to the experience of longtime workers, the silk must be dried in the big sun to be bright and beautiful. If it is cloudy, the silk will be gray and not of quality. Silkworming in Co Chat village is completely done by hand, does not use bleach like industrial silk, so it is durable and naturally bright. (Photo: Bich Ha / Vietnam +) The shiny nymphs, after pulling out the silk, are sold to cordyceps processing facilities or sold to the market as a dish. (Photo: Bich Ha / Vietnam +)