Silkworm (Super Mario) eating mulberry leaves.
- Asian earthworms produce silk that Cuban artisans use to make clothes and cosmetics.
- Cuba has ideal conditions for silkworms, including warm temperatures and abundant food.
- The project is funded by the Cuban government, the EU and the French government.
- For more climate change news and analysis, News24 The Future of Climate.
Cuban biochemist Dayron Martin, in a white coat and jeans, looks on with the gaze of a proud father at a table swarming with silkworms.
Hundreds of cream-colored caterpillars crawl on dark green mulberry leaves (their favorite food) freshly plucked from the bushes just outside his lab.
This, he says, is a success: The worms, native to Asia but fortunately transplanted to Cuba, are spinning thin, shiny white fibers that he hopes Cuban artisans will use to make a range of products, from dresses, blouses and shirts to cosmetics.
Martin, who heads the Arteseda Project at the Indio Hatuey Experimental Station in western Cuba, oversees the project from start to finish, from rearing the larvae to producing their preferred food and harvesting the silk.
“This is a tradition that is over 5,000 years old,” Martin said of the traditional Chinese custom, but noted that it was only recently adopted in Cuba.
“(The insect) requires very specific conditions,” he says.
Cuba fits the bill perfectly: mild temperatures, breezy trade winds, and a year-round growing season ensure a happy home and plenty of food for the worms as they move to their new home.
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Silkworms are the larvae of a moth (Bombyx mori) native to Asia. The silk fiber cocoons they produce have long been used as a source of commercial silk.
The Cuban project, funded by the European Union, the Cuban government and, more recently, the French government, aims to teach artisans the process and enable them to grow their own earthworms from scratch.
Darji Chaviano, who runs a small shop in Havana that produces cosmetics, crafts, soaps, textiles and prints, said artisans use the silk to make locally made products that they sell to tourists and locals.
Chaviano said he recently received permission from the local government to grow mulberry seedlings and silkworms in Havana, allowing him to produce his own raw materials.
“Every day I discover more things I can do with silk,” Chaviano said as she put the finishing touches on a pair of red silk earrings.
