Mohammad Bashir's Silk Factory

After checking out the heaps of silk cocoon at the Cocoon Market in Ramnagaram (see previous post), a not unnatural question arose in Blandine's mind: what do these chaps do with all these poor critters in their silken wraps? One of the farmers told us: the cocoons are carted off to a silk factory where the silk is spun into reels. And his uncle happened to have a factory just around the corner from the market. With a bit of difficulty, we located the factory. It was in a warren of cottages behind the old mosque. Here was our first sight of Mohammad Bashir's Silk Factory in Ramnagaram (that is waste silk you see drying outside):-

Mohammad Bashir graciously invited us in. He had no problems with us taking photos or videos. Blandine spent a long time in there, talking to all the staff and watching them at work. Here is a video I took:

And here are some pictures...
A lady working at the loom. The cocoons are shoved into the water bath, hooked onto a fine mechanical arrangement which spins off the silk, leaving the poor worm in the water.

The spun-off silk is given a heat treatment...

An old lady fluffs out the silk to give it bounce.

The finished silk yarn, ready for dispatch to a sari factory.

Mohammad Bashir outside his factory home, with his grandsons...