Cambodia’s first silk research centre: Q&A with Mey Kalyan

Facing vigorous competition from imports, a shortage of skilled labour and a lack of quality silkworms and mulberry trees, the local sericulture industry continues to struggle.

To learn more about the hurdles the Cambodian silk sector faces, Khmer Times’ Sok Chan meets with Mey Kalyan, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP) and the person behind the establishment of a new silk research centre at the university.

KT: RUPP will get its own silk research centre this year. Tell us about the new facility.

Dr Kalyan: The centre is now nearly 40 percent complete, and we expect to finish the project by July. It will cost around $80,000, which has been financed through a grant from the Japanese government. Despite the centre still being under construction, students have already began conducting research on silkworm rearing and breeding.

KT: Why does the country need a silk research centre?

Dr Kalyan: We realised there was great demand for raw silk and silk products in the country. Now most silk is imported from abroad, with local production being minimal. We decided to build the centre because we saw it as a great opportunity to contribute to the development of our community and the nation.

One of the advantages we have at RUPP is access to academic resources from many different fields, including biology, bio-engineering, architecture, community development and marketing, to name a few. We saw a great opportunity to utilise our expertise in all these fields to create a very advanced silk centre.

We are now working with private companies specialising in silk, and we can promise that we will start producing Cambodian silk by July, and silk soap by the end of the year. We already have about 1,000 mulberry trees growing in university grounds. In addition, in 2019, the World Bank will give us a loan to continue and expand our work.

KT: What are the main challenges for the Cambodian silk industry?

Dr Kalyan: First and foremost, we don’t have the raw material we need. We just don’t have high-quality silkworms that can yield large amounts of silk and are resilient to diseases. To give you an idea, I can tell you that only two in every 10 silkworms hand-fed in Cambodia survive. The standard is just too low.

To improve, we need facilities where we can carry out research. Other countries with prominent sericulture industries all have their own research centres, including Japan, Korea and Thailand. We need one as well.

KT: How will the centre reinvigorate the local silk industry?

Dr Kalyan: The centre will tackle every step involved in producing silk, from silkworm rearing and silk reeling to weaving and dyeing. By incorporating science and technology into the process, we will climb the value chain and create better products.

Simply put, our lack of scientific knowledge is the main factor holding us back and keeping the whole sector stagnant. The new centre will take care of this.

KT: What is your strategy to make these scientific advancements translate into greater sales?

Dr Kalyan: We are partnering up with local producers to teach them what we learn. For example, we are working together with silk communities in Kampong Speu, Mondulkiri, Kampot and other provinces. We help them improve the technique to grow mulberry trees and supply them with silkworms.

The community we are working with in Kampong Speu is now growing mulberry trees in more than ten hectares, and will be producing silk in the next two or three months.

KT: What species of silkworm will be used at the university?

Dr Kalyan: We are now breading polivoltine, which produces yellow silk, and want to start research on biovoltine eventually. The goal is to breed them together. But, I can tell you that our centre will focus on whatever the market demands.

Read more...