Silkworms spin employment for thousands in Central Java

By Ahmad Solikhan and Abu Ibrahim

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Under the blazing sun, five farmers harvested Taztar curicula silkworm cocoons on their cashew nut farm in Ngadirejo village, Wonogiri, Central Java.

As at the beginning of every dry season, wild silkworms have swarmed over the cashew nut trees and devoured their leaves. But cashew farmers do not count this as a loss because the animals leave behind cocoons that fetch Rp 25,000 (about US$2) per kilogram.

They sell the cocoons to a Yogyakarta-based businessman who makes a lot of money through exporting spun silk to Japan.

The Taztar curicula silkworm, which locals call the golden silkworm, can also live on uta-heite apple (Spondias dulcis) and cinnamon (Cinnamomum burmani) leaves.

Unlike silkworms that live on mulberry leaves, the locals know no technique by which to breed this particular species of worm, which can measure up to five centimeters long.

The golden silkworm cocoon business began two years ago in Kaliurang near Yogyakarta, Wonogiri, Blitar and Malang (both in East Java) and several places in West Java. Until then, the worms' economic value was not known.

Cocoons need careful handling, particularly in the harvesting because they are easily damaged. They are taken down from trees with bamboo poles.

Sukarno Adib, 50, a silkworm cocoon trader from Kaliurang, says cocoons should be harvested no later than 20 days after they have been built.

"Longer than 20 days, the cocoons will make a lower quality silk," he said.

Between two and three ounces of cocoons can usually be harvested from a single cashew nut tree. Each farmer can collect about one kilogram a day, which Adib buys for Rp 25,000.

The cocoons are taken in special packages to Kaliurang where they are cleaned and the outer layer of each cocoon removed by workers that Adib pays Rp 10,000 per each kilogram.

Adib then sells each kilogram of cleaned cocoons for Rp 65,000 to a spinner in Kaliurang.

After being thoroughly cleaned, the cocoons are soaked in boiling water and then spun by hand into threads. The yarn is dried under the sun.

The Kaliurang cocoon factory started two years ago when Medik International Corporation (MIC), a silk manufacturing company based in Tokyo approached local entrepreneurs after it ran into difficulty finding raw materials,

The Japanese company was overwhelmed by orders for top quality silk and research had shown that several places in Indonesia were suitable for golden silkworms.

Nanang Azrin, the manager of a thread manufacturing firm in Kaliurang, said that MIC opened a branch in Kaliurang.

He recalls that Mashashi Hani, MIC's finance manager, provided him with capital, production equipment and the offer of a regular salary if he agreed to sell all his produce to MIC.

Azrin said the Japanese company ordered 3,500 kilograms of silk a year, but he can only produce 980 kilograms.

To meet the increased demand, Azrin plans to open branches in Blitar and Malang in East Java and several places in West Java.

Besides thread, Azrin's factory also produces pressed silk. To produce the cloth, Azrin imports Japanese chiffon cloths, each measuring 60cm wide and 60cm long, which he covers in special glue. The cocoons are stretched and spread on the chiffon cloth, pressed with a special tool, then turned outside in to obtain a fine piece of cloth.

Today, Azrin employs 230 people, most of whom are women.

"Women are better at doing tedious jobs than men," he argues.

Nita, 20, said she worked nine hours a day, starting at 8 a.m. in the morning, for which she gets paid Rp 180,000 per month.

Parto Dinomo, 70, works part-time peeling cocoons while tending to her food stall. She sells tempeh, tofu and glutinous rice cakes from a stall outside her house.

"Everyday I handle 1.5 ounces of cocoons and get paid Rp 1,500," she said.

The cocoon business in Kaliurang employs thousands of people. It is most likely that none of them know that their handiwork, after being polished off with modern technology, is sold as a luxury good in Japan.

According to Azrin, a small bag with a silk trim could fetch the equivalent of Rp 20 million in Japan. MIC products, he said, are sold in upmarket stores in Japan.

Top quality silk imported from Indonesia is popular among famous celebrities and the wives of senior government officials. A silk kimono (night gown) reportedly sells for the equivalent of Rp 300 million in Japan.

And the lucrative business benefits neither Indonesian farmers nor Kaliurang's silk workers.