50 years of Gia Lành silkworm village

A small, prosperous village located in Gia Hiep commune, Di Linh district, is one of the earliest places in the highlands to raise silkworms. Established 50 years ago, this small village also boasts 50 years of mulberry cultivation and silkworm rearing.

The Gia Lanh people use nets to lift silkworms onto the drying racks.

• A good home attracts good people.

Ms. Dinh Thi Sau, a resident of Gia Lanh village, Gia Hiep commune, recalled her more than 40 years of mulberry cultivation and silkworm rearing: “I settled in Gia Lanh in 1984, at that time most people in the village were cultivating mulberry trees and raising silkworms. So, following the example of everyone in the village, I also cultivated mulberry trees and raised silkworms, and now I have been involved in this profession for over 40 years.” Ms. Sau's more than 40 years in the silkworm farming profession is also a long journey, closely linked to the history of mulberry cultivation and silkworm rearing in Gia Lanh.

“Gia Lanh village was established at the end of 1975, after the country was liberated. At that time, the textile and silk reeling factories in the suburbs of Saigon ceased operations, and many factory workers moved to Gia Lanh to settle. They brought with them the skills of mulberry cultivation and silkworm rearing, establishing the industry here,” recounted Mr. Le Van Phe, Chairman of the Gia Lanh Village Farmers' Association, who has been settled here since 1986. According to Mr. Phe, Mr. Nguyen Van Hao was one of the first people to settle in Gia Lanh and cultivate mulberry trees and raise silkworms. On the new land, the mulberry trees thrived, and the silkworms were healthy. Mr. Nguyen Van Hao and his family passed on the mulberry cultivation and silkworm rearing techniques to many surrounding farmers, spreading the traditional silkworm farming. Mr. Nguyen Van Hao has passed away, but the silkworm farming tradition he and his predecessors left behind has contributed to building the face of Gia Lanh today.

Mr. Le Van Phe recalled that before the 1990s, almost 100% of the residents of Gia Lanh cultivated mulberry trees and raised silkworms. At that time, silkworm farming techniques were outdated, using bamboo trays and frames. The mulberry variety was also traditional, with small leaves and low yield. “Raising silkworms back then was very hard work; picking mulberry leaves all day wasn't enough to feed the silkworms. Raising silkworms from eggs, hatching them, and caring for them was extremely difficult; it took a whole month to harvest a batch of cocoons. But the people of Gia Lanh still worked diligently, cultivating mulberry trees and raising silkworms, building prosperous villages from silkworm farming,” Mr. Le Van Phe recounted.

Then the silkworm farming faced difficulties: low cocoon prices, lack of control over silkworm breeds, and many silkworm-producing regions struggled. But the people of Gia Lanh remained steadfast in their craft, overcoming these challenging times together with mulberry trees and silkworms.

• THE SILKWORM FARMING PROFESSION IS CHANGING

“My family has been raising silkworms for three generations: my grandfather, my father, and now my husband and I,” proudly says Nguyen Duong Thuy Linh, a daughter of Gia Lanh. Linh is the granddaughter of Nguyen Dinh Tu, one of the first residents to establish the village in Gia Lanh. Mr. Tu was also a silkworm farmer from a very early stage, like the other residents of Gia Lanh at that time. Then, Linh's father, Nguyen Dinh Ky, continued the family tradition of silkworm farming. In the third generation, Nguyen Duong Thuy Linh and her husband, Khong Minh Ngoc, continue the family's traditional craft.

“Silkworm farming is different now than before. High-yield mulberry trees have large leaves, resulting in high productivity. Silkworms don't incubate their eggs; they're raised directly from the 3rd or 4th instar, which is very fast. A batch of cocoons is ready in just 15-17 days,” Thuy Linh proudly stated. According to Linh, many people in Gia Lanh still raise silkworms, with about 60% of households in the village still cultivating mulberry trees and raising silkworms. “The people of Gia Lanh have adopted advanced silkworm farming techniques, raising them on iron frames, reducing labor and improving cocoon quality. Even the method of setting the frames has changed; they use nets to help the silkworms climb onto square frames, solving the problem of double or triple cocoons when the silkworms compete for space, significantly improving cocoon quality and reducing the rate of spoiled cocoons. In my parents' time, we had to use lamps to separate the silkworms to make double or triple cocoons. Now, the wooden frames have only one hole, making cocoon making much easier and significantly reducing the labor for farmers,” Linh shared.

“Farmers in Gia Lanh are achieving fairly stable silkworm yields, ranging from 50 to 52 kg of cocoons per box of silkworm larvae. In terms of care, the cost is about 10-12 kg of mulberry leaves for 1 kg of cocoons. This is a good level of care; the silkworms grow quickly, the cocoons are thick, and the silk is strong. Gia Lanh cocoons are highly valued due to good breeding techniques, resulting in high quality,” Mr. Le Van Phe assessed. Mr. Phe informed that out of 210 households in Gia Lanh, over 100 are still growing mulberry trees and raising silkworms. Some households have abandoned their mulberry gardens due to old age, children moving elsewhere for work, or changing professions. However, silkworm farming remains a high-income occupation for the people of Gia Lanh, preserving a 50-year-old traditional craft of this newly settled land.

“In the Bao Loc or Lam Ha areas, silkworm farming is widespread and well-known. But we in Gia Lanh are also very proud of our 50-year tradition of mulberry cultivation and silkworm rearing, a profession that has been passed down from our grandparents and parents and will continue to help our people have a stable life like today,” shared Ms. Nguyen Duong Thuy Linh, the third generation continuing the Gia Lanh silkworm farming tradition, with deep affection for the village's traditional profession, a profession that has helped the people of Gia Lanh build their new homeland.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/kinh-te/202506/50-nam-lang-tam-gia-lanh-e834328/