Baby Silkworms, Hantens and Mulberry Saplings.

I ordered 2000 silkworm eggs and they arrived a few days ago. They hatched this morning. New genetic material was needed after breeding the same lineage for a few years.  These ones can be bred for a few years before they go a little wonky.

Dillon and Ishii san and Takeshima san are very interested in starting to silk farm on a small scale. This is exciting. I was hoping for a few quiet days but instead I got machine gunned with questions on sericulture.



A few eggs hatched last night.  The kerosene heater kept them warm all night.



In the morning 95% of the eggs had hatched and it was time to feed them fresh mulberry for the first time.









Some mulberry plants fell  victim to nasty insects and hungry bark eating starving winter monkeys last year. There were hundreds of hand made mulberry saplings a few years back and they ended up in the compost as enthusiasm for silkworm farming tanked. With some helpers I have taken a deep breath and am looking forward to the whole process again. There are a few more available fields near the house now. You can make mulberry saplings from seed or cuttings. To try something new I cleared some grass around some scrappy saplings in an abandoned mulberry field only a few hundred meters from the house.

It was necessary to cut the thatch grass around the mulberry. Birds are chirping and the tea is ready for harvest.



The bottom of the branch is scored before being bent down and buried in the dirt.







Picture from Heather of that abandoned mulberry field next to the tea.



Roots will grow from the branch and it will be dug up again this autumn and cut into sections that will each become a mulberry tree.

Busy busy days between workshops. Tea harvesting and silkworm care....playing with the new kittens.

Three more jackets from the hanten workshop.

Heather from Australia used the madder paste to colour the maple leaves on her jacket. Brilliant. The jacket will age so well.

Heather from Canada/living in Beirut went for a western image of mountains and tree silhouette that worked well with the soot touch. A jacket to treasure for many many years.

  

Mary in Equador knocked us out with this mokume shibori lining and delicate cherry blossoms.







More pictures of hanten work to come.

A group picture by the frog pond.





Sleeves not quite finished yet.



Thank you Teresa, Truus, Heather, Mary, Korinna, Jean, Heather and of course Hiro. Thank you thank you and thank you again. The sewing was a slog but look at those jackets!

Start to harvest this tea field tomorrow.  The village is magically beautiful right now.