Silk spooling in Vietnam

Mekong delta meanderings

Tan Chau's silk spooling factory

Tan Chau, a village near Chau Doc by the Cambodian border, had the reputation of the best silk farming and production. 

So off we went on the back of motobikes with our driver Tien, following little roads along canals and among rice paddies.

Tien had done his research the previous night . Here we were, he opened the door of a dull looking buidling from which came a loud mecanical noise... we took our shoes off and stepped into the factor,y in the middle of intense activity. Two floors of spooling machines.

First step, tranfer the threads onto bobins.

Skeins if single silk threads come from Dalat

Skeins of silk threads are now coming from Dalat, in the mountains where they have large scale silk farms. There are unfortunqtely no more mulberry trees in Tan Chau.

In this factory, single silk threads are spooled together in sereval plies, then the process is repeated again and again until the right number of plies.

Constant attention to mend broken threads

Tourist distraction in the
production lines

Dividing the rolls which will become skeins.

Tyeing the skeins together is a matter of skill
using hands and toes.

Skeins of silk threads ready for sale to weaving factories

Smiles from all ages in this busy Tan Chau factory