Silkworms Proving to be Great Source of Income in South Africa
ASIEH NAMDAR, CNN ANCHOR: Well, from bison to pigs, we now move on to silkworms. They are a delicacy for many people in South Africa, but their use goes far beyond being a good food staple. As South Africa's SABC explains, they are proving to be a great source of income.</s>SABC CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The species commonly known as the mapani (ph) worm has long been a source of protein to indigenous people. More recently, these sun-dried caterpillars have become a delicacy, appearing on the menus of some Johannesburg restaurants. While these succulent larvae are only useful as a food source, there are other interesting creatures that share the habitat provided by the mapani tree. The gonameto (ph) roof of ranare (ph) is covered in spiky hairs, which makes it unfit for human consumption. But along with its cousin, banameta pastica (ph), found on fallen trees, these African silkworms spin cocoons of high-quality natural fiber. So strong is the resin that binds the silk fibers, the cocoons can be fatal if eaten by cattle. They get caught up with the contents of a cow's stomach and eventually unravel, causing digestive problems. But in parts of South Africa's northwest province, the dicrena (ph), as they're known locally, have become a source of income. For the past three years, Robert Mabuwa (ph) has been part of a research project into the production of wild silk. Initially launched by the counsel for scientific and industrial research, the project is now administered by the community. Spotters have been hired to find areas where the dicrena are plentiful and families are paid to collect uninhabited cocoons only. Women are then paid to clean the cocoons. Then it is up to Robert Mabuwa and his assistant to begin the degumming process, transforming the rough cocoons into strands of silk.</s>ROBERT MABUWA, SILKWORM RESEARCH PROJECT: This is now our final stage of in</s>PICH (on camera): And that one?</s>MABUWA: This one? This one has been done,</s>PICH (voice-over): Local women have been trained as spinners and weavers, and this is where most of the value is added to the product. African silk has a wonderful natural color, and there is a high demand for it worldwide.</s>HAZEL HELE, KNITTER: It is our own African silk, it grows in the wild, and somehow it has an emotional appeal as well as the actual luxury of it. And it dyes the most beautiful colors, really those rich, jewel, earth colors, which are lovely.</s>PICH: But it is very much a cottage industry at present, because it depends on the availability of cocoons. Populations of the ganameta vary from season to season and no one knows why. Entomologists are concerned that the cocoons aren't always empty when collected thus threatening the moths that reproduce the species.</s>RUAN VELDTMAN, UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA: Because as soon as there is an added value connected to these things, they can become overexploited.</s>PICH: In the meantime, this marriage between textile technology and role ingenuity is providing a foundation for an enterprise that may become a viable commercial project. I'm Jessica Pich, within South Africa, for CNN WORLD REPORT.