GETTIN’ THE RAW SILK RIGHT

 

The making of my beautiful Lao Carpet – part 2. 

 

Tan is ready to boil the first batch of yarn for my carpet.

It is a stifling hot morning in Vientiane, as I come back to Magic Lao Carpet.  The worms have delivered their cocoons with about 200 meters of thin silk thread in each cocoon. Today, I will explore the next steps the elaborate techniques in making my carpet.

Tan and Tuk is hanging up somebody else’s yarn, dyed in a dazzling yellow color, called Tuscany.  Tan has been working with silk processing for more than 20 years, she tells me.

After all the dyed yarn is hung up to dry in the sun, Tan turns to a batch of raw silk – the first two kilos for my carpet.  Magic Lao Carpet co-owner Lani explains the procedures to remove the sticky glue-like substance left by the worms:

“First, to do the degumming we boil the yarn with lye from the rice straw ashes  to make it shiny and soft.  This takes about 30 minutes at 80-90c. When the yarn has dried up, we wash it one more time with iron sulfate in the water to remove all the glue. The process is relatively easy but takes time and lots of water – about 60 liters per 2 kilos of yarn,” Lani says.

After the second boiling the yarn is rinsed with a hose, followed by thorough scrubbing in big plastic jars filled with clean cold water.  After the last scrubbing, the water is still sufficiently clean to be used for watering Lani’s garden.

Rinse, rinse, rinse and then rinse some more.

 

The ambassador drops in

While following the procedures, I meet other people who are taking an interest in Magic Lao Carpets. The Canadian ambassador to Thailand and Laos, Ms. Donica Pottie, drops in to see, what they can do in the little workshop.  The ambassador notes with obvious recognition that Magic Lao Carpets is very much a social enterprise, offering training and jobs to disadvantaged Lao youth.

Magic Lao Carpets – a social enterprise. 

A designer from the UK, Ms. Sophie Wright, joins us this morning to study the yarn processing and dyeing. She is impressed with the technical skills of the staff.

After half an hour in the sweltering heat of the courtyard,  we all enjoy delicious ice-tea, made by mulberry leaves from the worm farm of Magic Lao Carpets an hour’s drive from the workshop.

Ismit brought the carpet making craft from Turkmenistan, when he arrived in Laos more than 20 years ago.

The craft of Turkmenistan

Lani’s husband, Ismit takes me to the workshop to show me how the weavers are preparing to set up the ‘skeleton’ of my carpet – soft and very strong white cotton string, imported from Thailand.  Ismit tells me that Magic Lao Carpet build their own looms based on local materials.

Ismit is a native from Turkmenistan, famous for producing handmade carpets for more than 4.000 years. He brought the technique with him to Laos more than twenty years ago.

It does not take long for my yarn to dry in the hot Lao summer sun.

Stay tuned for the next part: The secrets of the dyeing process.

 

TAKING DOWN THE FLAG

On the eve of the 30 April celebrations, I went to record the flag ceremony at Hanoi’s Ba Dinh Square. The square is named after the first three communes, who rebelled against the French.
Every evening at 20:50 the guards will ask the hundreds of people there to stop exercising in front of Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum and move to the back of the square to make space for the solemn ceremony.
When all looks neat, the loudspeakers will open up with Vietnam’s hymn “Bac dang cung chung chau hanh quan” (Uncle Ho is still with us when marching into battle). Then 33 soldiers, in crispy white uniforms will emerge to be led by a senior officer to the enormous flag pole at the center of Ba Dinh Square.  

The number of soldiers is a reference to commemorate a famous unit in the People’s army of 30 men and 3 women, who were led by the legendary general Vo Nguyen Giap. Ten years later – in 1954 –  general Giap commanded the Vietnamese forces in the final battle against the French in the Dien Bien Phu valley. The military defeat was a stunning blow, which resonated around the world and led to the collapse of French colonialism in Indochina.

Three soldiers will then approach the pole and lower the flag.
During the ceremony last night, I was surrounded by the whispers of grand parents telling their grand children of forgotten battles, decisive victories and lost friends. Their voices was like a persistent wind somehow overpowering the loudspeakers. It was a quiet beauty beyond words.

Then the flag was down to be neatly folded and taken away and stored for the night in the army barracks.

The simplicity of Vietnams flag – a single yellow star on red – is meant to carry a strong message of nationalism, pride and unity.

For Non-Vietnamese friends: The red symbolises the blood stained sacrifice of the Vietnamese people. The yellow 5-pointed star is showing the almighty power of Dang Cong San – The Communist Party. Each point represents the different contributors to the building of the nation: The farmer, the worker, the artist, the doctor and the soldier.
Whether you agree with the Vietnamese system or not, one thing is certain: Taking down the flag is a beautiful, simple and dignified ceremony, and it is there for you every evening at 21:00.