Visitors are welcome on the Africa Silks Farm. Experience the very interesting guided tour, browse in the beautiful showroom and enjoy spectacular views while spoiling yourself with homemade treats on the deck.

Silk production in China started as long ago as 3000 years B.C. For almost 2000 years China protected the silk industry. The leaking of any information regarding silk was a serious crime and carried the death penalty. However, with caravan trading, the knowledge and even silk worm eggs were eventually smuggled out of China. For many years silk was used as a trading product.

SILK FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA The history of silk farming in South Africa can be traced back as far as 1866, when The Silk Culture Company of Stellenbosch was established to create jobs for slaves who had been set free. Shares in the company were sold at 10 shilling Sterling. The original registration documents of this company, containing some well known surnames on the Board of Directors, are in the possession of a museum in Stellenbosch. Unfortunately no further information about the company is available,

but a few of the original mulberry trees, known as the Waterkloof Mulberry, are still alive and well and can be seen in the vicinity of the Stellenbosch Tourism offices in Mark street.

Unfortunately no further information about the company is available, but a few of the original mulberry trees, known as the Waterkloof Mulberry, are still alive and well and can be seen in the vicinity of the Stellenbosch Tourism offices in Mark street.

In 1987 the S A government established a silk farm in the Bushbuckridge area where the climate (night and day temperatures) and humidity were ideal for silk production.  In 1994 the government decided to privatize the farm. Mrs. Ronel Swart privatized the project Unfortunately the farm was not profitable and was sold in 1998.  Mrs. Swart opened a silk weavery in Graskop and called the new venture Africa Silks.

This proofed to be very successful and by 2008, 7 more branches were open in different parts of the country. In 2003 a brand new silk farm, between Graskop and Hazyview, opened for visitors. Visitors are welcome and a very interesting guided tour is offered. Then browse around the showroom and sip something cool while enjoying the tranquil views from the Deck Restaurant. Climate is a very important factor in silk farming.  The night and day temperatures have to be between 22°C and 29°C with no frost. The climate of the lowveld of Mpumalanga is ideal for these temperatures. Humidity has to be in the region of 50% to 80%. The farm procedure and the area has to be chemical and pollution free.

SILK FARMING (SERICULTURE)

Silk is produced by different insects in nature. Apart from silk worms, there are also spiders, ants and even some mussels spinning their magic thread. Spider silk is the strongest silk spun by an insect. On the silk farm we cultivate the Bombyx Mori, better known as the Mulberry Silk Worm. This is from the class: Insect, from the Lipodoptera, the Family Bombycidae. The Genus is Mori.

There are different types of silk worms: 1.   Monovoltine: Hatch in nature once a year. 2.   Bivoltine: Hatch in nature twice year. 3.      Multivoltine: Hatch in nature 12 times a year.

On the silk farm, 23 km out of Graskop on the Kowyn’s Pass road, the egg breeding started with breeding stock of eggs collected from children who keep silk worms as pets.  We also retained some imported eggs from the previous silk farm.  It was important to breed a bivoltine worm that could adapt to the climate of the area and be resistant to climatic fluctuations.

In sericulture (silk cultivation) calculations are done in DFL’s. Each DFL box contains 22 000 silk worm eggs.

LIFE CYCLE OF THE SILK WORM BOMBYX MORI

1.  A worm’s cycle from hatching to the completed cocoon is 28 days. 2. A worm multiplies it’s bodyweight 10 000 times in these 28 days. 3.  A worm multiplies the weight of it’s silk gland 140 000 times in these 28 days.

4.   A worm goes through 5 stages: First stage – 3 days; second stage – 3 days; third stage – 4 days; fourth stage – 6 days; fifth stage – 8 days. Thereafter the worm goes into the spinning stage.

5.   Between every stage the worm goes into moult. The worm sheds its skin for a full day during which time it does not eat at all.

6.   When the worm goes into the spinning stage, it’s silk gland comprises more that 50% of the total body mass.

7.   The worm spends 48 to 72 hours spinning the cocoon and takes 2 to 3 days to change into a pupae. After 10 days a moth emerges, mating between the male and female takes place and thereafter the female moth lays between 300 and 600 eggs. The eggs are the put into an incubator at 5°C. Hatching times are planned exactly and are removed from the incubator at specific times, treated with and acid treatment and hatch 10 days later. Because of this controlled hatching every 3 weeks, the silk farm can have eggs hatch throughout the year.

8.   The baby worms hatch in the egg house and are brushed onto ‘spaghetti cut’ mulberry leaves, using a feather. The baby worms are fed 4 times a day under controlled temperature and humidity. Paraffin paper is used to prevent leaves from drying out between feeding times. Cleaning and removal of old leaves takes place with the aid of shade cloth with holes big enough for the worm to go through, but small enough to prevent leaves from falling through.  The shade cloth is put over the worms and new leaves are put onto the shade cloth.  The worms move through the holes in the shade cloth to the fresh leaves. When the shade cloth is lifted, the old leaves are below and can be removed.

9. After the third stage the worms are moved to bigger sheds where the temperature and humidity are less controlled and it is here that the worm start showing signs of it’s readiness to start spinning.

10. When the worm is ready to spin it gets a transparent look and the head seems shrunken.  The worm stops eating and the droppings will start to get looser. The worms are then put onto shredded paper where they easily find anchors for their threads to spin cocoons.

This is a cold blooded insect.

The head consists of mouthparts and eyespots.

Breathing takes place through the 9 pairs of stigma situated on either side of the worm.

The worm has 6 thoracic legs at the head, 4 pairs of abdominal legs at the trunk and 1 pair caudal legs at the back.

There is a caudal horn situated at the back end of the worm’s body. This is supposed to appear dangerous, but has no ability to sting.

The worm has an eyespot, crescent spot and a star spot.

The worm can only distinguish between light and dark while the moth can see with eyes.

The worm has an exo-skeleton to protect the internal organs.

The internal organs consist of the alimentary canal, silk gland, malpigian tubes and a dorsal longitudinal vessel with a posterior heart and interior aorta spiracles. Also a nervous system and reproductive organs.

Every worm has 2 silk glands.

Each silk gland consists of an anterior, middle and posterior part.

In the posterior part silk fibrion is formed.

In the middle part serocin is produced.

In the anterior part silk protein is manufactured.

When the worm starts spinning, fibrion is put through the serocin, which is a gum like substance. As the silk emerges from the two glands at the spinneret, the serocin comes into contact with air and hardens to stick the silk threads together.

Cocoons can be processed in different ways:

i)   Cut-open cocoons for spun silk or silk duvet inners.

After the cocoons are cut open and the pupae removed, they are boiled with bicarbonate of soda to loosen the serocin.  After boiling, it is washed and dried to spin or to stretch into squares for the manufacturing of silk filled duvets.

ii)  Whole cocoons for reeling of silk.

To do reeled silk the full cocoon has to be boiled in order for a continuous thread to be reeled off. In the process the pupae is destroyed because the thread will be broken if the moth is allowed to emerge from the cocoon.  In South Africa this process is seldom used.  With this method a single continuous thread of approximately 1,3 km is reeled from each cocoon.

SPINNING OF THE THREAD

Iterileng is a unique community project in the rural area where 50 women work from home. Dina Maropani is the leader of the project.  These women spin and colour the silk and cotton for Africa Silks. The aim with this project is job creation which allows the mother to work from home, be with her children and earn an income. These women were all previously unemployed and the money they earn is much needed for survival.

Silk cocoons are stretched and spun into threads. The thread is then double twisted to be stabilized.

These beautiful threads are then woven by weavers in the Graskop weavery on electric looms acquired specifically to process the spun silk produced by the Iterileng project.  In addition there are 7 handlooms.  A rough uneven texture is woven into the most beautiful throws, bedspreads, scarves, etc. Not one of the cloths woven is the same – each piece tells a different story. The materials woven on the electric looms are transformed into wonderful interior products. The looms were designed by Dr Colin McLeod and only after extensive training provided by his team of experts, was the staff at Africa Silks able to work these intricate machines.

At some of the branches of Africa Silks, local unemployed people were trained in the art of hand spinning and weaving and are now full time employees of the company.

There are about 80 permanent staff members employed in the 8 outlets of Africa Silks. During peak seasons another 20 - 30 temporary workers are employed. These people do the production, marketing and selling of the products.  The uniqueness and African feel of the products is what makes them irresistible.