TURKISH SILK ON ITS WAY TO INDIA
Lecturers of Izmir University of Economics, Faculty of Fine Arts and Design, Department of Fashion and Textile Design will tell the story of Turkish silk that had to compete against Chinese silk for many years, in India. Prof. Dr. Elvan Özkavruk Adanır, Head of IUE Department of Fashion and Textile Design, Lecturers Seda Kuleli and Özge Dikkaya Göknur, will be talking about silkworm breeding and silk weaving in Turkey after the presentations they conducted in Thailand, Italy, and Alanya.
Prof. Dr. Adanır stated that they conducted studies on silk in many of the cities in Turkey, and they especially focused on the silk in Ödemiş region. She said, “We’ve witnessed that silkworm breeding in Turkey almost came to a halt in the 1990’s. However, we’ve realized that decrease in both incentives and the quality of Chinese silk livened up the production of Turkish silk lately. China, for many years, supplied cheap goods to the world markets. Now, the decrease in the quality of the product helped enliven the silkworm breeding in our country again.”
'We’ve succumbed to China'
Prof. Dr. Adanır stated that they’ve been conducting studies in Ödemiş since 2011. “In the beginning of the 90’s, the price for pure silk per kilo went from $55-60 to $15-20. Silkworm breeding in Turkey is usually not a line of work that makes up for the whole income of a family. It became a line of agriculture to contribute to the total income. By this way, it is safe to say that fresh cocoon production plays an important role in rural areas in terms of preventing hidden unemployment and providing a balanced distribution of agricultural income by generating income in short time. But in time, Turkish silkworm breeding succumbed to China,” said Prof. Dr. Adanır.
Even if the silkworm breeding disappears silk weaving is full speed ahead!
Despite the decrease in silkworm breeding, weaving with raw silk from China was not affected, said Prof. Dr. Adanır, and she stated the following:
“About 120 tons of fresh cocoon were being produced in Ödemiş in 1980’s, however, in 1990’s silkworm breeding came to an end. This situation gained a positive speed with the establishment of city councils in 2009. City Council Women’s Assembly recommended a project in order to liven up silkworm breeding in Ödemiş, and collaboration was made with Bursa Koza Birlik as part of that project. “Revitalization of Traditional Silkworm Breeding Project” in Ödemiş stirred up the breeding of silkworms in the region. One of the major concerns to take into consideration is to ensure the leaves of mulberry trees, the only source of food for silkworms, are free of pesticides. We’ve tried to raise awareness about this in presentations we conducted in Thailand, Italy, and Alanya. Now, we will do the same thing at the International Silkworm and Sericulture Congress in India.”
