Narrator: Weaving threads of silk from cocoons
is a tradition that goes back
more than 1,000 years in Cambodia.
But about 50 years ago, it almost disappeared.
A brutal regime killed and tortured intellectuals,
including artisans who specialized in this craft.
Narrator: Sophea Oum, who goes by Pheach,
made it her mission to revive silkworm farming
and Cambodian weaving.
She has spent 20 years teaching people
how to raise worms and turn their silk into textiles
using an ancient technique called ikat.
Narrator: We visited Pheach's silk farm and boutique
in Siem Reap to see how a new generation ensures
this ancient craft is still standing.
Making silk starts from the ground up.
Farmers plant fields of mulberry trees
for golden silkworms to feast on.
This was once a popular tree across Cambodia,
but most were torn out by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s
to make way for rice plantations.
The country's famous golden silkworms lost their habitat,
and they nearly died out.
Narrator: Once the leaves are harvested,
workers transfer them to breeding sheds.
Silkworms feast on shredded leaves for 12 days
before they can eat a whole one.
This is important to keep this space clean.
Narrator: After 25 days, they turn yellow
and are ready to spin.
Workers hang them on this structure that allows airflow.
It takes about four days
for the worms to build their yellow cocoons.
The best ones go to a breeding area,
and the rest of the cocoons will become silk.
Workers drop them in boiling water to release the fibers.
They use a spatula to catch them,
then insert them into the spindle.
They reel out the silk slowly
in one continuous motion so it doesn't break.
The outer part of the thread is rough, like horse hair,
and they use it for cheaper scarves.
Artisan scrape it off to reach the inner layer
and make sure the threads are even.
This is the best part of the silk
and what they need for their ikat textiles.
They wash, stretch, and soften the yarn by hand
and hang it to dry.
Designing and weaving just one 2-meter piece of fabric
can take three years.
Narrator: Thin Em, who goes by Crum,
was an orphan when she started working here 18 years ago.
Today, she has mastered every step.
Narrator: She says the hardest part
is the tie-dyeing technique.
Narrator: Artisans are essentially
creating the images using knots.
The different-colored plastics represent each color
in the final design.
They spend up to a year just tying the threads.
In the past, people in Cambodia
used banana trunks to do this.
Narrator: They prepare the material for dyeing
using natural and native ingredients such as tree bark,
turmeric, and insects' eggs.
Narrator: Workers add them to the boiling water.
They strain the mixture to create a smooth consistency.
Then dip the knotted silk in the steamed batch.
The plastic knots protect sections of the pattern
from the dye.
This variety of resist dying is called ikat,
from the Indonesian word for "bind" or "tie."
When the dyed part is dry,
workers cover it with new knots
and cut the plastic wrapping from the next section.
Narrator: They'll repeat this process hundreds of times
with different colors and threads.
They move the threads to the spinning jenny
and prepare them for the loom.
Silk weaving in Cambodia dates back to the seventh century.
It was on the Maritime Silk Road between China and India,
and diplomats across Asia would wear the textiles,
marveling at their quality.
The craft survived hundreds of years,
but it was almost completely lost
when the communist Khmer Rouge regime
seized control in the mid-1970s.
In its drive for a peasant utopia,
the regime targeted the elite and educated,
which included silk artisans.
Nearly a quarter of the population was killed
in what became known as the Cambodian genocide.
Crum was only a child during the regime,
but she remembers her family's struggle.
Narrator: She says working here has changed her life.
Today, every time she sets up a loom and weaves a new piece,
she feels proud.
Narrator: Pheach says the loom she's using
is similar to the ones used in the 12th century.
Setting it up takes one month.
She adjusts the shuttle regularly
to make sure it aligns with the dyed ikat pattern.
She adds the threads to small spindles
and moves the shuttle from one side of the loom
to the other to create the design.
Narrator: But Pheach sees it as a commitment
to her history and culture.
Two decades ago, she poured everything she had
into starting her company, Golden Silk Pheach.
Narrator: There are around five other silk farms
across Cambodia that follow these traditional techniques.
Pheach sells these silk products in her boutique to museums
and art collectors.
Because it takes years to make each piece,
they often sell for tens of thousands of dollars.
Narrator: Today, she employs 42 people
who make clothing, shawls, and tapestries.
She says it's her way of strengthening the dignity
and pride of Cambodian people.