Cocoons of Opportunity - Silkworm Farmers Wrap Up a Successful Season
The Georgian Silk Association (GSA), together its member silkworm farmers have successfully concluded harvest with a celebration on Friday, June 13th. This season, nine families and one public school from the municipalities of Akhmeta, Sagarejo, and Signagi produced a total of 82.8 kg of raw silk cocoons with silkworm eggs sourced from Bulgaria. Silkworm farmers in Western Georgia, Imereti and Samegrelo regions, using eggs sourced from Georgia will begin harvesting next week.
On average, each family produced up to nine kilograms of raw cocoons, with a yield of 3–3.2 kilograms per gram of silkworms, an excellent result according to sericulture specialists. 75% of the cocoons will be sold as raw silk, primarily to the State Silk Museum, the GSA, and private buyers, while the remaining 25% will be used by farmers to create value-added products like silk-filled pillows, quilts, sleep masks, and scarves.
Silk production offers multiple benefits, providing silkworm farmers with additional seasonal income while supporting environmental sustainability. Instead of burning mulberry branches after leaf-picking, farmers now use a shredder to turn them into mulch, which can be composted and used as organic fertilizer in vegetable gardens, promoting sustainable farming practices and reducing waste.
Silkworm farmers and sericulture specialists are very pleased with the yield and quality of the cocoons. Nino Kuprava, director of the State Silk Museum, was delighted with the quality of the cocoons, she congratulated the silkworm farmers and wished them continued success which she herself is supporting through offering ongoing silk crafting workshops for farmers in the museum.
The majority of this year’s silkworm farmers want to produce silk for next year as well, with new ones joining, wishing to plant mulberry seedlings in their yards.
The ALCP2 helped establish the GSA, which serves as essential support for rural silk producers, providing access to silkworm eggs, enhancing production, and increasing awareness of the sector.
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.