Silkworm Rearing Season Begins

Facilitated by the ALCP2 the Silk Laboratory of the Scientific-Research Centre of MEPA has just provided fifty grams of newly incubated quality silkworms to rural women in Akhmeta. Eleven families from three villages in Akhmeta will rear the silkworms over a forty-day period, with the goal of producing silk cocoons by mid-June.

“The silkworms have been laboratory-tested and are free of disease. This marks the first instance of silkworm farming initiated by local farmers, and we are pleased to support their efforts,” stated Nargiz Baramidze, Head of the Silk Laboratory.

The ALCP2 is facilitating the revival of silk cocoon farming in Akhmeta, Kakheti region. Last year, the program supported a local sericulture specialist and four families in a pilot project that produced ten kilograms of cocoons. Local and media interest was considerable (see: A Reportage by the Georgian Public Broadcaster – Sericulture in Kakheti) as local silk production has such deep cultural and personal resonance as people all over Georgia remember their childhoods in the countryside and often their grandmothers cultivating the worms in family homes.

“This year, our goal is to produce at least one hundred kilograms of cocoons. We already have orders from craft makers, handmade cosmetic companies, a local VET college, the State Art Academy, and the State Silk Museum. While the silk cocoon market is currently small, it holds significant potential,” said the sericulture enthusiasts from Akhmeta, who are in the process of establishing a silk association.

The ALCP2 implemented by Mercy Corps Georgia, is funded by the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC) in cooperation with the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC) and Sweden.