How Mountains Of Worm Cocoons Are Turned Into Expensive Silk In Vietnam | Big Business

Silk craft villages have dotted Vietnam for hundreds of years. They make silk by hand in a tedious 30-step process. Craftspeople feed the silkworms every four hours so they spin brilliantly yellow cocoons. And turning those cocoons into silk is even more delicate work.
In the 2010s, as cheaper, fake silk flooded the market and young textile workers moved to the big cities, this local craft started dying out. But one village turned things around, banding together into one cooperative called HanhSilk.
We head to northern Vietnam to learn how Nam Cao village saved its big business of silk.
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How Mountains Of Worm Cocoons Are Turned Into Expensive Silk In Vietnam | Big Business

[@DerpyUniverse]

It’s crazy how that one woman changed the course of many generations by saving this industry

[@tgsoon2002]

It is the mindset. Mostly young people gain knowledge and come back to help organize. That is good gray matter investment there.

[@Alinax99]

This industry should have died together with the others that involve the killing and exploitation of non human animals. There are so many other things that can be done by leaving these individuals alone!

[@meeklynobody3230]

💰 is love.

[@DerpyUniverse]

@@Alinax99 don’t feel bad for the silkworms because they wouldn’t exist in Vietnam at all in this climate without humans

[@pxh6129]

@@Alinax99 Let me guess you're a vegan

[@wingv313]

The woman who left being a designer to build the coop for her region & country, is very impressive. She’s a hero for the silk trade of Vietnam 🇻🇳 These are the traditions that should be passed down.

[@no_one161]

yessss

[@capitalgains4194]

Props to her she is a very very shrewd and has good business acumen

[@SubjectiveFunny]

Yes, very impressive lady.

[@SanjayGupta-nt9vn]

I have to agree, from Vietnamese students that I had, they have entrepreneurial blood in them and woman where more business oriented ...💁🏻‍♀️

[@TheJoshScape]

Or another example of the rich taking advantage of poor?

[@Fizzwhizz28]

It’s extremely frustrating that none of the videos provide links or info about the companies they film. It would benefit the peoples lives and businesses and help keep the crafts going. Saving culture and the environment. PLEASE PROVIDE LINKS/INFO!

[@mwater_moon2865]

SOME of them do, you have to check the descriptions closely as they often aren't nice blue links, but text of the address you have to copy and paste. I bought something from the Etsy store of the Ukrainian family making rugs for instance.

[@dusscode]

They gave the name of the village in the description. Don't expect these remote villages to have a web presence.

[@FatGouf]

​@@dusscode they now do.

[@oakenshadow6763]

​@@dusscodeThey could still do better to credit the people they are documenting. It's respectful to show them that recognition, and the bare minimum after they let the cameras in there at all and interfere with their work.

[@pornneliushubbard1967]

It’s a 3rd world country. I doubt they have a number you can call haha. Let them be.

[@sunsetworks7755]

My sister is a teacher and her school raised silkworms as part of the curriculum for several years. The teachers had to find enough mulberry leaves themselves. Fortunately our dad owned an auto junkyard with several wild mulberry trees. My sister's worms were always healthy, I believe because pesticides had never been used on our property. The other teachers worms did not do very well, probably since most residential lawn trees have been exposed to pesticides. The school district eventually discontinued the silkworms because most teachers did not have healthy worms.

[@mintqo]

thats so cool

[@gameskyjumper1721]

I remember our school convinent store were selling bags of mulberry leaves when the school science class where teaching about silkworms. They were not cheap. School is shady AF.

[@angelaphsiao]

It’s ridiculous that they would have that program and not provide the food as part of it

[@Cina_Bukit]

​@@mintqoand sad

[@Cina_Bukit]

My school is a little different. Especially bright students were segregated into a class of their own, and only they got to dissect frogs.

[@AgatBro]

oops. i thought they were mac’n cheese 😅

[@gachatookthekids]

Looked like cheese curls to me.

[@robeatsispain1564]

The thumbnail makes it look like it fr

[@icebear5423]

I know right

[@nickchan6599]

Same bro

[@larasutari8073]

Same😂

[@rafaelperalta1676]

Ms. Hanh is such a kind soul. She left her job, made the cooperative, and helped these families to preserve a craft that was on the way to a steady decline.

[@suhailshabir9305]

💯

[@iswaryabethapudi6113]

hmm 07

[@roach6992]

"Kind soul" she wanted money, she wouldnt have done this if it didnt make her money

[@cheekers4445]

@Roach ofc, she needs money to live too, but what she did help the village profits from it and keeping the tradition alive

[@grunge2012]

they KILL THE WORMS THAT TURN INTO BUTTERFLYS! How are they kind souls?

[@NoneOfYourBusinessMF]

I live in Vietnam, yesterday we made everything you can see on the video by hand. We also made our own paper with tree water. A wonderful experience.

[@lisehowlette9603]

This was very interesting. I can remember as a child we had silkworms and they were so much fun ! We would also feed them beetroot leaves and they would make pink silk 😊 Such a wonderful childhood memory .

[@longletai]

I'm from Vietnam and thanks Business Insider for making a lot of videos about Vietnam that even Vietnamese people like me sometimes do not know. All videos are great and deep research. 🥰

[@nocancelcultureaccepted9316]

Vietnam could be better if the people stopped throwing garbage everywhere they go. They’re literally wreaking havoc the environment.

[@LupinLuu]

@@nocancelcultureaccepted9316 sure because people from your country have never thrashed the streets before, and sure throwing trash onto the streets is the reason Vietnam being in the position it is in rn. I'm not saying throwing trash is not a bad thing but coming in here acting all high and mighty, claiming not throwing trash somehow would save the whole country is just...weird!

[@loliatti7104]

@@nocancelcultureaccepted9316 Just nearly a century ago, we Vietnamese didn't know what plastic is, back then we wrapped food with banana leaves and contained cattle using bamboo made case. Then modernization and globalization came and it happened too quickly that people 's mind didn't catch up with it. Older generations like my dad or my grandfather,for them throwing trash on the street is a bad habit that eaten into their blood. They know it is wrong but their hand just do it anyway before the brain can process. However people from younger generation like me would glad to get rid of that harmful habit forever.

[@SaretGnasoh]

ok communist

[@anpham1011]

@@nocancelcultureaccepted9316 like we the US didn't ship trash to Vietnam to dispose. Sure, their mannerisms are questionable, but first world countries were a part of it. I can say it because I'm Vietnamese residing in the US. And I know the tea.

[@ThePratech]

This lady is a HERO she saved livelihood of so many families & preserved their tradition

[@sanilnambiar6781]

Totally agree

[@pinkchaos.]

It’s too bad she isn’t treated or paid like a hero 😞

[@ThePratech]

Very True

[@isaiahc8390]

This world is rapidly passing away and I hope that you repent and take time to change before all out disaster occurs! Belief in messiah alone is not enough to grant you salvation - Matthew 7:21-23, John 3:3, John 3:36 (ESV is the best translation for John 3:36) if you believed in Messiah you would be following His commands as best as you could. If you are not a follower of Messiah I would highly recommend becoming one. Call on the name of Jesus and pray for Him to intervene in your life - Revelation 3:20. Contemplate how the Roman Empire fulfilled the role of the beast from the sea in Revelation 13 over the course of 1260+ years. Revelation 17 confirms that the beast is in fact Rome. From this we can conclude that A) Jesus is the Son of God and can predict the future or make it happen, B) The world leaders/nations/governments etc have been conspiring together for the last 3000+ years going back to Babylon and before, C) History as we know it is fake. You don't really need to speculate once you start a relationship with God. Can't get a response from God? Fasting can help increase your perception and prayer can help initiate events. God will ignore you if your prayer does not align with His purpose (James 4:3) or if you are approaching Him when "unclean" (Isaiah 1:15, Isaiah 59:2, Micah 3:4). Stop eating food sacrificed to idols (McDonald's, Wendy's etc) stop glorifying yourself on social media or making other images of yourself (Second Commandment), stop gossiping about other people, stop watching obscene content etc. Have a blessed day!

[@willblack8575]

@@pinkchaos. she is very rich...what you talking about?

[@kalistrand5420]

I am so grateful for Han creating the collaborative! I love traditional clothing and jewelry and want it to exist well into the future. What people like these families produce is not only beautiful but culturally invaluable, because their labor is an art form. Thank you to everyone involved who has chosen to earn their living by preserving this tradition!

[@alexmartian3972]

"collaborative", "stabilized" the price. Is it another name for cartel and price fixing? Price went from min 3 to over 100 according to the video.

[@marschlosser4540]

It's always a pleasure to hear of the peoples of Vietnam thriving. Grow from one generation to the next, thrive and be blessed.

[@generallylevel-headed9671]

What an incredible woman Hanh is!! She did more than revitalize this community but gave it the tools for future growth and success. Everyone in the video is so clearly grateful to her, so I can only imagine she's kind as well as intelligent. Amazing!

[@Pow3llMorgan]

Real community leader.

[@itsok2bwhiteendanti-whiteh548]

For those of you young people who have been wrongly taught that capitalism is bad, see here how capitalism is GOOD, and benefits all societies. This here is capitalism working wonders. _“Capitalism is where bread waits in lines for people. Socialism is where people wait in lines for bread.”_ 🥖🍞🥖🍞🥖🍞🚶🏻‍♂️ 🥖🚶🏻‍♂️🚶🏻‍♂️🚶🏻‍♀️🚶🏻‍♂️🚶🏻‍♀️🚶🏻‍♀️🚶🏻‍♂️ Socialism, by definition: “Any of various theories or systems of social organization in which the means of producing and distributing goods is owned collectively or by a centralized government that often plans and controls the economy. The stage in Marxist-Leninist theory intermediate between capitalism and communism, in which the means of production are collectively owned but a completely classless society has not yet been achieved. Any theory or system of social organization which would abolish, entirely or in great part, the individual effort and competition on which modern society rests” (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English language, 5th Edition). In pre-communist socialism, totalitarian government-NOT your friends and neighbors-owns and regulates the economy, and what it is you earn and receive. Government decides all, and redistributes as it sees fit, taking your profit, and giving it to freeloaders, thereby eliminating all private ownership, and with it the incentive to compete and gain. This is why socialism (which is communism) has failed everywhere it has ever been implemented. Communism resulted in the deaths of over 100 million people last century alone, mostly due to starvation. The very foundation and success of western civilization is entirely owed to capitalism, not socialism. North Korea is socialist, Venezuela is socialist, Cuba is socialist, the former failed USSR was socialist. All of these nations and more have been destroyed by socialism. Most every nation that has a private business economy is a capitalist nation. _“Capitalism makes, socialism takes.”_

[@mattygee1402]

@@itsok2bwhiteendanti-whiteh548 Okay but who asked climate change denier LMAO

[@dewolf123]

@@itsok2bwhiteendanti-whiteh548 I mean that is only your opinion XD

[@christianriddler5063]

@@itsok2bwhiteendanti-whiteh548 Sure but just as in the case of socialism, there is a point where it goes too far. Capitalism leads to the death of civilisations as we see in the west today. I'ts of course only one factor among many but it contributes much to the destruction of the west. Everything in moderation. Nothing that humans make is perfect and so it is best to take the best aspects of different ideas and combine them into something that works. Abandon the silly divisive left right narrative and look beyond.

[@janeh.nguyen7658]

Our family is in the silk industry for the past 25 years, and there are MANY unsung, unheard heroes within this industry alone. The traditional crafts industry in Vietnam is at large, are in need of apprentice to pass on the traditions, and silk is suffering even more due to it hard-labour nature. Not just that, because the delicate texture of silk, every other steps past weaving needs specialist. For example: you CANNOT dye silk the same way you dye cotton, a lot of hand measure and experiences needed to recreate the colors perfectly; Same thing with sewing silk into clothes, a normal fast-fashion factory seamstress WILL NOT have the skill/sense to work with silk; Same with printing on silk, embroidery on silk etc. You might think I am exaggerating, but our family been trying to train new seamstress and finding apprentice for our suppliers - the success is minimal. Especially after Covid-19, all exports stalled and a lot of the artists left the industry. My mother and her sisters tried their best to maintain the workflows and keep people, but they cannot save everyone in the industry. All I want to say is, it is a weakening craft, but there are many passionate people trying to carry on the legacy. Ms. Hanh here is one of them.

[@thatcanada]

Thank you for your insightful comment.

[@EtreTocsin]

In the west we have sewing machines where you can adjust the tension of the machine to sew silk. Is this not the case in Vietnam?

[@Rumade]

It's a beautiful craft and silk is such an amazing fabric. Here's hoping the world can get off the teat of polyester fast fashion and use more natural fibres.

[@Lulu-bw2fk]

where is your family buisness located?

[@demantoidgem2709]

@Repent and believe in Jesus Christ What does this statement do with producing silk? Did anyone do anything Bad?

[@debmalouin9880]

What an Amazing laborious art. Silk is my most favorite material ever. My Dad designed & made wedding gowns so we have great appreciation for the finest of fabric. I'm also Happy to hear the pupae are not wasted. I saw another documentary that uses cocoons after the worms hatch into moths. Im sure this art is even more difficult. Thankyou to ALL preserving this Amazing luxurious material.

[@RayMak]

Such beautiful silk

[@MinervaMinurvaaa]

I found you

[@francoissmith2295]

I used to have silkworms. Always drove around town to find the right mulberry tree for leaves. You can also feed them beetroot and the silk will be pink!

[@francoissmith2295]

@@siddhita22 yup did it all the time. You can also cut out what ever shape you want out of cardboard, and then put the worms on it when they ready to spin their caccoon, then they will fill that whole piece of cardboard fill of silk.

[@batfurs3001]

@@bluebird5361 I'm raising silkworms currently, and you can feed them different stuff. You just need to also feed them mulberry leaves/chow. They won't eat other stuff if they still have mulberry left, so I usually alternate, and they do just fine. They'll eat carrots, lettuce, etc, though I haven't tried beetroot yet. Should give that a go

[@Arthur-ek7nd]

For some reason I pictured you driving around with a container of the worms looking for trees to graze them on like a psycho.

[@patriciarussell1177]

Do you know what the leAves are that they are feeding the worms or should I say crops?

[@trygveevensen171]

@@bluebird5361 "Fresh beetroot leaves can also be a good alternative to offer your silkworms. Your worms might get a reddish tinge when they eat these foods for more than two days. Silkworms that are near the pupae stage will also spin pink or reddish silk when they are fed beetroot leaves at this stage." "They will not eat wet, bruised or wilted leaves. They can survive on lettuce or beetroot leaves, but a diet of this alone will mean that they don't produce a good quality silk."

[@lampkinmedia]

Makes me really appreciate many of the garments and other items made by hand. The skills of many passed down generations is a real treasure. Wish working conditions and wages increase for these very talented people. They take such pride and precision making each product.

[@halukiji1522]

Imagine you hope your whole life to transform into a butterfly and when the time is finally come you get boiled alive

[@dhanhyaa]

Your comment is among the few that restores my faith in humanity.

[@BELIEVER78989]

True man, I don't understand how can people see past that and still wear silk, the world is cruel🤦‍♀️

[@Sauceonspill17]

Or eaten. Life goes on

[@gumoa2866]

@@dhanhyaa I hope you understand that they can't actually fly and ppl won't raise them if they're useless which will lead to them going extinct.

[@eveelliotauthor]

Thank you for saying so. I don’t think most people know or care how cruel it is.

[@TahitianTreatSkeetJuice]

videos like this show u how theres important people in literally all cultures. also shows u that its not just the glamourous jobs (Doctors, IT workers etc) that keep this world going. this also shows u how we need more plan B's. because what these people do, will be done by robots/machines, and at a much faster pace, minus the pay & health care demands.

[@alexanderthegreatzabaras7492]

We need more of this, we need more people going into these small poor villages,helping them with new technologies/ideas, instead of the money going to traders it should go to the people actually creating the products , doing the hard work.

[@tonyhussey3610]

I totally agree 👍👍👍 always the middle man gets the gains.. workers suffer

[@tuckerbugeater]

@@tonyhussey3610 Because the middleman is a necessity.

[@tonyhussey3610]

@@tuckerbugeater ain't no middle man if the workers don't work ! Of course you need a middle man..I never said otherwise..but it's normally never a fair deal for the people doing the graft.. Craftspeople have the burden on average damaging thier health with the jobs they do.. not to mention the years of experience.. Middle man's job should be to get the best price for the product and share that with the craftsperson so they can improve the process and have a comfortable life.. Just my humble opinion..

[@MLMenjoyer]

This is due to communism in Vietnam. Support communism in your own country!

[@MelancoliaI]

@@tuckerbugeater Nobody's denying that. But clearly there's an imbalance OP is addressing

[@Hiro1oo1]

what a fantastic example for other coop farms, they're so much more powerful and able to aid each other by using their labor as a collective voice rather than being divided and conquered by cheaper interests

[@MLMenjoyer]

Long love communism. Great comrades here in Vietnam

[@VitaInDC]

The brilliance of their ancestors is breath taking. They figured out 4,000 years ago how to build these complex machines which required no electricity and to use the materials from inside a bug to make beautiful clothes! These people were blessed with pure genius; I am saddened by how many were lost during the Vietnam war.

[@lyin4rmu]

lmao, silk was invented by china not vietnam. 4000 years ago? haha earliest example of silk and silk looms was found in china 6000 years ago!

[@globalnetizen956]

@@lyin4rmu No one wants to hear about China, just stay behind your wall.

[@emilyzhang5651]

Watching this really makes me appreciate all the silk garments I have more (I have a lot, so much so that a lot of the times I can recognise silk by observing the sheen and feeling the fabric)

[@QuanLeTravel]

There's a whole story about a woman, who comes from a family that doing this and becomes perhaps the most respected queen in Vietnam's history. She's even the inspiration of Tam Cam, the most famous folklore's woman of Vietnam.

[@pxh6129]

Hoàng hậu đó tên là ai thế bạn? Là người Việt nhưng chưa được nghe bao giờ.

[@agrezmc]

@@pxh6129 Tôi nghĩ rằng một phép ẩn dụ đã được sử dụng. ... tương tự như truyện Cô bé lọ lem.

[@LinhNguyen-rn7hl]

@@pxh6129 Nguyên phi Ỷ Lan, nhưng đối với truyện cổ tích lưu truyền dân gian thì cũng chỉ là suy đoán có cơ sở của bên sử học thôi. Nói chắc 100% thì không dám đâu

[@Ai-nu8nq]

As a kid growing up in Morocco, we used to raise these worms as pets and exchange them amongst us like pokemon cards lol, and the best was to have all different color cocoons, and the moths were cute , but they died fast.

[@technctest1962]

Great job organizing the 200 plus families. You're a great inspiration to your community.

[@yoshuatree8538]

This is absolutely beautiful, raising the worms, using their silk, producing clothes, and bringing everyone together ❤️ wonderful cycle of life

[@jaxong.2701]

and boiling them alive

[@mohsinpatel1053]

And boiling them to retrieve the silk

[@yoshuatree8538]

@@mohsinpatel1053 good soup 😂

[@BELIEVER78989]

Sure🌚

[@fabiana7157]

There's no excuse for cruelty to animals in 2023 and onward. No excuse.

[@silva7493]

My mom in California raised silkworms for her preschool students for several years. Those little guys eat an unbelievable amount of fresh mulberry leaves every day.

[@metaphysicalretardation]

"The worms are always hungry and need the perfect environment or else they'll die." Damn, guess I'm a silkworm then.

[@leele3143]

😆😆

[@brucewayne5916]

Do you produce any silk? If you are then I can give you perfect environment

[@pero_kostic]

@@brucewayne5916 🧐🥵

[@just.earthian]

@@brucewayne5916 😂😂

[@nadheem420]

No you aren't, the worms are useful unlike you

[@tonybarrientos6610]

Thank You Vietnam... I admire and inspired by the silk farmers.. Its all natural fabric worth Billions of $$$ Love from The 🇵🇭

[@nowie1111]

This is amazing. 💯 from the lady who saved this tradition and took it to another level, to the people who make this silk. Just incredible 😍 👏

[@hanoo_1995]

It always feels good and proud seeing younger people step in save the tradition with technology 🙏👏👌

[@entertainme7523]

Heck yeah

[@agoodballet]

This made me flash back to 1st grade. My teacher had us raise silk worms and we had mulberry trees on school campus we could pick and feed them leaves from. It’s hazy but I do remember learning about the life cycle and how awesome they are.

[@entertainme7523]

Did they survive?

[@agoodballet]

@@entertainme7523 They turned into some crazy looking moths and we let them go underneath the Mulberry Tree.

[@SnowyCountryChicken]

By any chance, did you go to school in California? My second grade teacher did the same project.

[@agoodballet]

@@SnowyCountryChicken yup, sure did. I grew up in Covina CA.

[@SnowyCountryChicken]

@@agoodballet I grew up in Stockton, CA and there were mulberry trees on the grounds of my elementary school. My second grade teacher collected silkworms and mulberry leaves, put them in cardboard boxes. Our class saw the worms eat and eat for weeks, then spin themselves into cocoons. In early June, each student was invited to take cocoons home. I recall that the white ones were female and the gold ones were male. My uncle squashed the male cocoon by accident. He didn't know what it was. I was very upset. The female came out of her cocoon during the summer, but she had no one to mate with, so she passed away without reproducing.

[@TheJimprez]

I bought a raw silk suit at Benetton in Ottawa in the 80s. It was 80% off. Nice suit. But my barracks buddy borrowed it and washed and dried it. It MIGHT have fit a 12 year old after that. I sweated him until payday before I told him I only paid 20% of the tag price... And I NEVER let him borrow anything else. It was a REALLY nice tan suit. For about a week. Very comfortable in summer heat.

[@Pabloplays929]

im proud of vietnam, people think vietnam is just a poor country but its so beautiful with such good industry

[@jayandjeff5749]

Our family used to have silkworms that were given by an old friend, and we went to a local high school that luckily had mulberry leaves. I'm happy to say that the silkworms made cocoons and flew off!

[@mehere8038]

silkworm moths can't actually fly, so sad to say that they didn't actually fly off, they were eaten by birds or something else if they vanished

[@catherina2611]

Silkworms have to eat their way out of their cocoon and that hole means the cocoon can't be used for fabric production. Silkworm moths can't eat (they have no mouths) and only live for around a week... just long enough to mate, lay eggs and die.

[@jayandjeff5749]

@@mehere8038 I actually don't remeber quite well as it was around 5 years ago. They might have died or gotten eaten :(

[@TWEAKLET]

@@jayandjeff5749 yeah silkworms don't actually exist outside of captivity its sort of like most our other domesticated breeds we altered them so much with breeding they no longer have the ability to fly and thus survive in the wild

[@thesilentworld9556]

Bless the family for making silk clothes for comfortable who have allergies to wool, cotton, etc. I love to visit this someday.

[@drinnerd8532]

Mad props to Hanh and the people of that village!

[@Antzzz_Manzzz]

Hang who saved the Vietnam silk industry is one to be admired ❤️🙏🏼

[@linhgiangnguyen3700]

As a Vietnamese, I hope this traditional craft will last for good

[@nonamentes8299]

@Flower7 yeah, I know, eating them is so delicious, don't you agree >:)

[@hochigaming14yearsago90]

@Flower7 i love bugs, so delicious, no?

[@fabiana7157]

Your traditions will die lol.

[@sherrywebster1675]

Silkworms are so amazing . I raised some years ago... my father made me a miniature spindle and I used to put the coccoon into warm water and unwind the silk thread very easily without harming the pupae , and then I put them in a box with a light covering of tissues for warmth and they would hatch and begin the cycle again . No need to buy more silkworms every season ..and the coccoons were amazingly easy to unwind into one long unbroken thread because they didn't need to be cut open to remove the pupae . It was very efficient and also kind to the worms .

[@pet05et73]

Wow, finally! So glad to read this. If only this could people do in their business too. Produce and not harm the animal.

[@Sinyao]

Either way, I don't think their method is a waste. The video stated that part of the process involves specialists who breed the silk worms, so you can ensure quality on that front. Even though the kill the pupae, it's also a part of their local cuisine.

[@pet05et73]

Yes I watched the video. And still thinking the same, glad to know that there is a way of doing it without boiling poor animal alive.

[@kimbermichelle3922]

@@Sounds_from_Studio_Be They can still be eat by others bugs so they aren't safe, the bees are eating them.

[@mwater_moon2865]

@@Sounds_from_Studio_Be There are worm friendly silks that just use the cocoons after the silk worms have chewed out of them, the strands end up shorter and less usable, but still quite workable. As for these worms at least, the people who raise them eat them, it's a vital part of protein in their diet. Since humans can't eat mulberry leaves and the silk worms can, it's a way to feed the human animals who would be lacking protein otherwise.

[@holland9199]

Now this is worth the price for silk ,you see the step by step from begging to end tradition 🤔 Unlike other unjustifiable exaggerated prices and cheap products product in looking to make a buck. This is very nice and you can also see finished silk products 🤗

[@laikristine2153]

Its because of passionate people like this we get to see such amazing silk and traditions still existing

[@EveloGrave]

God I love Vietnam. Such a splendid country.

[@persephoneblack888]

I like that they fry and eat the silkworms so they don't go to waste. I saw a video once on industrial silk farming and they just threw away the silk worm bodies. Instead of making food from them.

[@rudycomcepcion6163]

The people and government of Vietnam must be applauded. Like the Phoenix, the country has risen from almost total destruction from Vietnam war. Thanks for your creativity, resiliency and industriousness 🙏

[@m.ccheddarbox874]

Bravo to the women that saved the industry there. It's amazing what one person can do with passion and good ideas.

[@levisbitch204]

It's amazing that the survival of an entire industry can be credited to one woman. She's a hero.

[@florians9949]

Lesson from this video: improvise, adapt, overcome.

[@broadh2o980]

Workers cooperatives are the way forward to defeat the world oligarchs and greedy corporate capitalism. Massive respect to her.

[@TotallyAGoblin]

That is amazing, she revived a dying trade town. I hope it grows and they continue to be successful.

[@TojiFushigoroWasTaken]

Banding and working together like this gives more power to farmers and weavers alike💪

[@kenneybis1097]

Until today I didn't know the tallow tree had any uses whatsoever, much respect

[@MyRusticFarm]

Vietnam has many craft villages and their culture is very unique. I love Vietnam.

[@margaretpatton376]

So many important crafts and skills are lost thank goodness for Hahn. If only more people would sacrifice for the greater cause the world would be a better place. Best wishes for her, her business and all those beautiful people!

[@icanhazgoodgame3845]

As a kid I used to find silk worms on mulberry trees. I kept them in a shoe box putting in a few fresh leaves a day until they spin themselves into cocoons, and eventually moths.

[@j121212100]

oh the struggles of the poor to bring such an exquisite fabric to wealthy.

[@ImSarpD]

Makes you wonder who's making all that money off their hard work because it doesn't look like its them.

[@Alinax99]

How about silkworms? They are literally boiled alive! These people may very well find something else to do that does not involve the killing or exploitation of non-human animals!

[@thanhvinhnguyento7069]

@@Alinax99 what do you suggest we do then. Limit ourselves to extinction? Get a grip

[@qm142009]

@@Alinax99 unless you are vegan or else you don’t have the right to say that. Plus it is their choice.

[@ImSarpD]

@@Alinax99 And unlike a lot of other use of animal products, they don't let it go to waste and use it as food. Very admirable no-waste industry in my opinion. You need to try to muster a bit more brainpower here and realize not all living things perceive life, pain and death the same as human begins. Therefor it's stupid, illogical and ignorant to make comments with that thought process.

[@noticemeonii-chan5347]

Simply amazing how they do all this I should’ve went to sleep after before watching this but it’s just simply amazing how these people work their asses off for generations absolutely mad respect

[@stevenzheng5459]

6:15 I'm pretty sure sericulture and silkmaking originated more than 4000 years ago in China, during the Bronze Age. Traditional Chinese sources date to roughly 2700 BC, though archaeological evidence pushes that earlier by 1000 years. Silkmaking didn't enter Vietnam until the Han dynasty (roughly 2000 years ago).

[@Marcus_-sy9fi]

It was likely done in VN 3000 years ago during the Qin dynasty

[@TMsonjakopp7006]

Wasn't Vietnam founded in 939 AD? Pretty sure It was under the rule of china before that.

[@jamiey3731]

@@Marcus_-sy9fi what kinda of misinformation is this china invented silk its taught in every history class

[@martinemjt]

i wonder who is the first person who decided to experiment to create fabric out of this. the thought process is really ingenious.

[@OVERKILLFPV]

Hanh is definitely CEO material.

[@martinengelbrecht5384]

What a beautiful gifted woman who saved villages!

[@Iron_monkey7]

amazing job to that woman. preserved her culture and gave people jobs 👏🏽

[@FinancialShinanigan]

I want to hear the logic of the first person to look at a cocoon and make silk from it.

[@lurkingarachnid7475]

Buddhist monk thought of it

[@baptiste6436]

by touching it and realizing how soft it is?

[@bldmyamean8352]

First person's exact thoughts: "Damn moths keep eating my clothes??!! I make clothes out of your babies!! - Hey that turned out pretty well. Imma be rich""

[@thhdhn2]

@@lurkingarachnid7475 , Not Buđish monk, it was in China and has nothing to do with the monk.

[@lt530]

If I remember right, it was an empress in China that discovered it by playing with a cocoon that fell into her lap one day.

[@robertforrester578]

Hanh is a hero and we say GOOD WORK!!!!!!!!! Thanks from Philadelphia, USA

[@babychewbacca9211]

Some people on Twitter or Facebook talk about saving something but Ms. Hanh isn’t all talk. Awesome woman

[@jiggaleepuff]

Kudos to Ms Hanh for helping to keep this trade alive for an entire village. I also like the idea of forming a cooperative as opposed to other more exploitative business models.

[@PoppyOxymoron]

I absolutely love silk. It’s so soft and wonderful for the skin

[@Alinax99]

Think of the poor live boiled silkworms

[@Maymei99]

@@Alinax99 Think about the farmers who starve without those boiled silkworms.

[@Alinax99]

@@Maymei99 there are many people in poverty who do not kill or exploit non-human animals, so doing so is simply a selfish choice that has nothing to do with real needs! Plus there is always a solution that does not harm anyone, you just need to really want it

[@altf4834]

@@Alinax99 Now go over there and give them the solution since it has "nothing to do with real needs"

[@simspawn]

@@Alinax99 if you really want it, figure it out and teach them. Go ahead, figure out how to feed and house 100 people. Then 1000. Then 10000. Then figure out how to do 100,000. Even if you managed to do that, you only need to do that entire thing another 70,000 times and you can end animal cruelty. Like you said, the answer is out there. You can figure it out if you want it bad enough. Either do that or stfu.

[@MatthewHarrold]

Silk is the embodiment of smooth. Thankyou silk producers, you make cool stuff. $0.02

[@PushyPawn]

Just for next time, comments are now $0.03 Inflation, war.. yada yada.

[@damianlopez7630]

Actually...the embodiment of smooth is "Satin" which is a weaving technique. Silk is a protein fiber which can be woven into different kinds of fabrics.

[@PushyPawn]

@@damianlopez7630 Buying 3 pairs of satin underwear doesn't make you an expert.

[@damianlopez7630]

@@PushyPawn Oh Damn...I knew it...Another smart ass. I work with Fabrics You Silly. I have 33 years of experience. It's not because I bought 3 pairs of satin "underwear" "so now I'm an expert". I'm an expert because I studied about fabrics for over 30 years!!! That is why. Now... Why Does the comments section have to be filled with smArt aleks.

[@okeefenokeetheseventeenth2200]

It is very interesting to watch, thank you for this video. Te only reason why I self would never buy silk is, that for one shirt so many animals have to be killed slowly in boiling water.

[@Iwishuwould-uq5gl]

I thought I was looking at big 🌽 and was about to see someone make sweet corn😋😋.

[@thesilentone4024]

Can we just make are clothes out of this again like before unlike now where are clothes are at least minimum 60% plastic. Also these can jest eat food waste like theres more then 1 kind of sink worm lets reduce are landfills and make clothes and armor.

[@mirroredvoid8394]

Plastic is cheaper

[@appakbeats5867]

Silk clothes are still made. You are just not ready to pay for it :)

[@thesilentone4024]

@@mirroredvoid8394 its also killing everything even you and me.

[@thesilentone4024]

@@appakbeats5867 no but thats because its a small market if we ramp things back up it will be cheap. Hell way beck before plastic it was kinda cheap it wasn't to uncommon to see a commoner waring one. Now oh boy almost nobody can afford them why to small of production for the demand we have for clothing now.

[@thecommentguy9380]

silk outfit still exist, problem is as you can see it is very costly to make even one outfit out of silk

[@joepalooka2145]

Beautiful, amazing, fantastic and wonderful to see this. I had no idea. The silkworm is one of the great natural treasures of the planet Earth. To realize that the Vietnamese people have been cultivating this amazing little worm and producing silk for over 4000 years is incredible.

[@Alinax99]

I would like to see if I still find it beautiful, amazing, fantastic and wonderful if you were in the place of the silkworms that are boiled alive

[@johnbrookhaven7134]

Silk is original in vietnam..not china..

[@kdnguyen1444]

That’s fake information. No historical evidence of the claim of 4000 years.

[@kdnguyen1444]

@@johnbrookhaven7134 Don’t be silly. I am Vietnamese and we never claim that silk is from Vietnam. The best silk is still Chinese silk, not Vietnamese silk.

[@TMsonjakopp7006]

Wasn't Vietnam founded in 939 AD? Pretty sure It was under the rule of china before that.

[@Catlady77777]

This makes me cry. All these tiny beings killed for a fancy fabric. 🙏

[@dhanhyaa]

Exactly. It’s frustrating the way this video is framed, completely disregarding the silkworms. I hope every silk industry in the world switches to making animal-free silk alternatives. I personally have stopped wearing real silk sarees and opted for vegan silk saree alternatives.

[@howsad2397]

bruh they make silk to make money and survive, they don't have a lot of options like you people. no silk=no money

[@jokesonyou1253]

The silk worms evolved perfectly to live an easy life style. They just sit there, do their things, and get fed unlimited amounts of their favorite food. 😂

[@nomennescio7571]

And then they are boiled...

[@lenhan1477]

@@nomennescio7571 and eaten which is great.

[@BELIEVER78989]

And then get boiled alive, what a life👏

[@gumoa2866]

@@nomennescio7571 which is great because that's painless

[@gumoa2866]

​@@BELIEVER78989 great death though, painless. they won't go extinct either

[@gertwoumans8082]

So remember, for your silk incredible amounts of animals are boiled alive so their cocoons can be harvested. I will never buy/wear silk, ever.

[@Alinax99]

Same! This is awful!😡 I’m really proud for being vegan

[@mehere8038]

per kilo of plant based fabrics produced, 1000 times more of these same caterpillars are poisoned to death with pesticides, than need to die in silk production

[@mehere8038]

@@Alinax99 you should be ashamed, not proud! Your head is in the sand & you simply deny the animal deaths you cause!

[@AlphaLama.]

Who gives a shit about some bugs?

[@dhanhyaa]

Same. Switched to wearing a vegan silk saree.

[@lizm7909]

i'm trying to track down some of this silk as we speak, and if not guess a trip to vietnam is in order soon because this is exactly the type of beautiful natural fibres that the world deserves to rediscover! i just know all this artistry has infused this silk with something really special 💕

[@fabiana7157]

You're an idiot 💓 boiling animals alive is a horrible thing and every tradition that involves unnecessary animal cruelty needs to DISAPPEAR in this day and age. It should stay IN THE PAST! There are plenty of natural fibres that don't involve killing anything. I'm sure that young people will move on from things like these and they'll disappear in a few decades. If not... maybe another pandemic is in order 💖 humans deserve it

[@rpitt5066]

Congratulations to them. I wish we could identify where their product goes, so that we can help them, as consumers.

[@chaoticklutz3633]

The thumbnail made it look like handling giant piles of macaroni and cheese LMAO

[@EvanWerewolf]

Finally some Forbidden pasta!

[@allanvandenberg7]

We used to trade silk works as a kid at school in south africa 🇿🇦. Some have striking black and white stripes; and the moths are beautifully white with black antennae. I remember wondering how the cocoons turned into silk. 20 years later, this video has answered that question.

[@DatsWhatHeSaid]

Those brows are antennae :)

[@suecollins3246]

Allen, I don't think there's a kid who hasn't - including me. When I was in kindergarten the nun who was in charge of us actually demonstrated it - perfectly!

[@nemesis7058]

Hummmmm ça à l'air tellement bon, j'ai trop hâte de manger ces bonnes choses :p Les riches, avec leur boeuf de kobe seront jaloux !!!

[@maymoon8851]

I can't believe I clicked on this. I can't believe I clicked on this at this time. I'm having nightmares tonight 🤦🏻‍♀️

[@vinceknowseverything]

That's an excellent working community 💙

[@mysanatangyan]

Very painful for silkworms. Boiling a living organism in hot water is very painful. Some other means of employment should be found where we do not give pain to any living being for our benefit.

[@QuinnHarleyQuinn]

Thank you🙏🙏🙏

[@Bigfoothawk]

Kills them instantly

[@d.b.2215]

The pupae become food for humans, they don't get wasted. Silkworm pupae are a byproduct of the silk industry. You can stir fry them or roast them

[@arcticplayer9793]

My old neighbors had a mulberry tree in their backyard. One time we raised 5 silkworms into moths. We didn't realize some of them were male, ended up with hundreds of baby silkworms that we couldn't take care of.

[@sansik2113]

Hahn. Such respect for such determination. This is the kind of person that changes the world one village at a time

[@bumbarbiexo]

They should be charging so much more & I hope they’re paid for this.

[@plz1277]

Great report! Viet Nam is a beautiful country with friendly and very innovative people. I love they still use old traditions instead of like large corps that introduce chemicals to cut cost but ironically at a high cost to our health/environment.

[@samuelmuldoon4839]

Do you work for the tourism beureu, or a specific town's chamber of commerce? People don't write things like "Vietnam is a beautiful place full of friendly innovative people" unless they are paid to write such things.

[@plz1277]

Well I guess you’ve been proven wrong. I wish I got paid to talk about travel or cultures from other countries, but I just travel a lot and appreciate the people and places that give me life long enriching memories. Sorry to burst your bubble!

[@claire4212]

@@samuelmuldoon4839 you don’t need to work in the tourism bureau to write things like that bruh

[@asmaaa.6163]

@@samuelmuldoon4839 cope lmao

[@Celestinelee11]

I love to wear silk because it feels wonderful against the skin. I am happy to know how it is made and have a greater respect for these farmers.

[@Thaqueentnb]

Listen this woman made such a difference to this community!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@spaghettimeatballswow]

Unraveling the cocoons by hand is such a pain, there has to be a way to automate that.

[@noname77404]

No one is going to talk about the thousands of worms being killed (in boiling water) just so we can have silk?

[@petrescuework-difficultcas6581]

That's why you should refuse to buy silk products, just like for example merino or mohair wool products. It's just cruel on living beings.

[@Hawk7886]

They eat the worms. It's like any other animal that's farmed by humans: Fish, beef, lamb, chicken, etc. If you're not vegan, you're part of the cycle. I love meat, so the best I can do is try to support farms that have respect for the animals before consumption. If you hunt, use every part and don't just shoot for sport and leave the animal to rot.

[@mehere8038]

how about we start by talking about how their cousins are poisoned on mass when they eat cotton crops & how plastic clothing is responsible for ocean micro-plastics

[@chihirostargazer6573]

And all the land being used just to grow food for the worms they are going to boil alive so they can steal their cocoons. Those little worms work hard to spin those cocoons hoping to fulfill their purpose of becoming a moth.

[@SunGodd3ss369]

When you’re high as hell surfing on KZbin. Lol definitely learned something new!

[@anntrope491]

♡☆♡ BLESSINGS ON YOU ALL for continuing this amazing industry !! Love that you all came together to keep this family tradition going...♡☆♡

[@lenzp4133]

as usual, china almost wiped out a perfect sustainable, centuries old industry with its poisonous trash mass production. glad they made made it, they look really happy. the villagers seem in a good mood too

[@jamiey3731]

bro. silk was INVENTED IN CHINA. this video makes it seem like it isnt but it was, and its a very long old tradition in china. ur blaming the chinese people/china for everything when its litterally their own culture. u would do it too for money

[@vb3482]

Amazing, I love this videos. Vietnamese people really know how to cultivate quality work and craftsmanships.

[@Sarahc-mn1tr]

Wow. Total respect to those who do the hard and delicate work.

[@brilive9797]

You can do hard work for a community without boiling silkworms... they could do all this and let them fly off rather then boil them it's just an extra process to add to the transformation process of this business... they can't wait an extra day... the silk worms won't stay there for 2 weeks afterwards or anything.... it won't hut the business either... slack

[@Lulu-xl5cm]

@@brilive9797 They say that when a worm hatches it ruins the silk cuz the threads are shorter. This says a lot about humanity, most of us at least. Most humans don't care about other beings as long as they themselves can be happy. This whole silk industry is disgusting and cruel. Satin is just as soft and comfortable.

[@LIONTAMER3D]

Vietnamese silk is the finest fabric on Earth