The natural silk production project is a wonderful call to action for all young people around the world. Will anyone heed this call, establish it, and profit from it?
It's considered an inexpensive project that young people can start a successful life with. To learn about all aspects of the project, as well as some tips to help it continue and grow, read the following lines.
Natural silk production project
- This project is mainly based on raising silkworms, or as they are called butterflies, which are considered the only source of natural silk, and without which the project has no basis.
- This silk production process takes place after hatching for up to six weeks, during which the silkworm stops eating and works only on weaving cocoons, which are a sticky liquid that hardens when it comes into contact with air to become a silk thread.
- The finest and highest quality silk is obtained from a specific species of butterfly known as Bombyx mori, which is native to China and feeds on the leaves of mulberry trees.
- This silk is widely used in various industries such as luxury textiles, embroidery, surgical sutures and also aircraft parachutes.
How to get silk from silkworms
Like any other project, it requires the necessary equipment and supplies to ensure that the production process runs successfully and generates profits. These supplies are as follows:
1. Determine the project location
A room with an area of at least 10 square meters should be available to be suitable for raising silkworms. The room should be well disinfected, the walls of the room should be painted with lime or sprayed with a formalin solution or a hypochlorite solution. The room should also have good ventilation and moderate humidity. For example, a temperature of 23-25 degrees Celsius would be suitable, and the humidity could be 70-75 %.
2. Necessary tools
Plastic or wooden trays, in which the silkworm larvae are placed. They should be placed high above the ground and a distance of 40 cm should be left between them. Do not forget to sterilize the trays with formalin before using them, and place them in the sun for a month before raising the worms:
- Purchase sterilizers and place them in the silkworm rearing room.
- Purchase special devices to control temperature and humidity
- Grow the main food for silkworms, which is mulberry, or purchase mulberry leaves in sufficient quantities to be available permanently.
How does a silkworm produce silk?
It is necessary to know how the silkworm production process proceeds, which is as follows:
- The butterfly begins laying about 400 eggs at once, and the eggs hatch into 0.5 cm long caterpillars, after which
- These larvae feed until they reach 7.5 cm in length, at which point they stop feeding.
- Another stage begins, which is weaving the cocoon. Within two weeks, the length of the cocoon becomes 300-900 cm.
- The larva then begins the dormant stage to become an adult butterfly.
- Note that you must extract the silk before the butterfly emerges from the cocoon, because once it emerges the silk has no commercial value.
- To produce a good amount of silk, you need to feed the caterpillars large quantities of mulberries. Making one silk dress requires approximately 2,000 cocoons, which is equivalent to feeding the caterpillars two mulberry trees.
- What are the advantages of the natural silk production project?
- Its capital turnover is considered low and may take only one month.
- It is easy to produce and also easy to market, as you will find a large number of merchants specializing in selling silkworm products.
- Cocoons can last a long time without spoiling if stored properly.
- You can implement the project yourself without the need to hire workers, which contributes to reducing the required costs.
- Learning how to raise silkworms and produce silk can be done easily by taking a training course which is available at a nominal fee.
- This project is open to expansion and wider reach.
Tips for keeping silkworms alive
Silkworms may be exposed to some diseases, and if this happens, there will be a huge loss for the project owner. To avoid this loss, you should know the following tips:
- All health requirements for breeding must be followed, and the place must be cleaned regularly.
- Feed the caterpillars small mulberry leaves and avoid large leaves, as they are irregular and may cause many diseases.
- It is not recommended to raise a large number of larvae in one place, to prevent diseases from being transmitted from infected larvae to healthy larvae.
- Protecting the larvae from ants, which are their biggest predator.
- It is necessary to disinfect eggs by soaking them for 15 minutes in 30% of tetrachloride, then placing them in water.
Is the silkworm project profitable?
Before implementing a silkworm project and at the beginning of the thinking stage, you must consider whether the silkworm project is profitable. This will determine whether you will enter this project and invest your money in it or not.
Let me tell you, the silkworm project is one of the simple and profitable projects, as it provides silk, the most expensive fabric on the market. It is used to manufacture various high-quality garments, which are sold at high prices, thus benefiting the project founders.
You will also find that there are a large number of novice investors who have established this project and reaped huge profits from it.
How much does a silkworm cost?
The price of silkworms varies depending on the country in which they are sold. For example, in countries where they are endemic, such as China, they are cheaper than in countries that import them from other countries.
How many kilos does a box of silkworms produce?
One silkworm case can contain 18,000 eggs, which can provide 8 to 12 cocoon sheets, with the capacity of one sheet being 12 cubic liters.
Disadvantages of the silkworm project
- Failure to maintain the cleanliness of the place where the silkworms are kept may cause the project to collapse and result in a huge loss.
- Irregular feeding causes weakness of the larvae and irregularity in their age.
- If the temperature is too high or too low, the larvae will die.
- Therefore, it is very important to know the rules of silkworm farming before starting the project, and all of them must be followed carefully and precisely.
Feasibility study for a silkworm farming project
Some may think that conducting a feasibility study for a project before implementing it is a routine and unimportant step. However, in reality, it is not. Conducting a feasibility study is very important, and through it we can understand all aspects of the project and also determine the required costs. The elements of a feasibility study for a silkworm breeding project are as follows:
- Determine the appropriate place and space
- Capital and expected costs
- Equipment and tools needed for the project
- Labor required for the project
- Marketing and promoting the project
- Natural silk price
- The price of natural silk is controlled by a number of countries, including China, India, Uzbekistan, Brazil, Japan, and others. The price of one meter of silk can be estimated at $100, a price that is subject to increase or decrease depending on the monopolizing countries.
Where are silkworms sold?
Silkworms are sold in many countries, and the locations vary from country to country, but it is common to find them available at silk cocoon stores.
Where are silkworms found?
With the increasing talk about the project of producing natural silk using silkworms, and the clarification of the advantages of this project and the ease of the establishment process, many people have turned to purchasing silkworms and establishing their own projects. From here comes the question of where silkworms are found.
China is the original home of the silkworm, from where it is exported to various countries around the world. Specifically, you will find it on farms that contain many mulberry and orange trees, and it is active in the spring. This worm depends entirely on humans for its food.
Silk production in Saudi Arabia
Silkworm farming is an ancient heritage project in Saudi Arabia. Residents used to raise silkworms in areas where mulberry trees were found, which at that time was considered a small agricultural project.
Now, silkworm farming projects have emerged in Saudi Arabia on a large scale, due to its significant role in enhancing and strengthening the country's trade and self-sufficiency.
Silk production in Algeria
Algeria has experimented with raising silkworms, known as Bombyx tutti, which are widely raised indoors. To achieve this goal, all production stages were carefully and meticulously followed, while also providing all the necessary resources to ensure the experiment's success.
Thus, we have explained the natural silk production project, a successful project that has existed in many countries for a long time, but has only recently gained significant traction among project founders.
