Kerala college launches silk cocoon project, eyes campus-branded sarees

Students at Vimala College's Zoology Department in Thrissur, Kerala, have completed their first silk cocoon harvest as part of 'V-Weave', a sericulture campus start-up that takes them from mulberry cultivation and silkworm rearing all the way to plans for weaving silk sarees.

The initiative has made Vimala College the first college campus in the state to undertake silkworm rearing and silk cocoon production, according to Prof Feeba Rani John, Head of the Department of Zoology. Students cultivated V1 variety mulberry and used double hybrid silkworm laying for the first cocoon harvest at the college's off-campus facility at Padukkad.

Campus entrepreneurship meets traditional craft

V-Weave is the first sericulture campus start-up in the country to emerge from a group of zoology students, organisers say. "Our ultimate goal is to create a campus-branded Kerala silk saree," said Prof. Feeba Rani John, the architect of the V-Weave start-up.

Principal Prof. Sister Beena Jose said the aim is to take students from campus into the silk saree industry and make them self-reliant while nurturing entrepreneurial awareness.

Call for a state silk economy

Chandy Oommen MLA, who launched V-Weave and the first silk cocoon harvest on the college campus, called for the development of a "silk economy" in Kerala. "Kerala needs a silk economy. Sericulture initiatives capable of contributing to the State's economy should emerge from our campuses. Sericulture and the silk industry have enormous relevance in the self-employment sector," he said.

He urged other colleges to take inspiration from the initiative and suggested exploring an integrated mission similar to a Silk Economy Mission, centred on colleges across the state. A strong silk economy could encompass the entire value chain, from mulberry cultivation and silkworm rearing to yarn production, weaving, design, branding, marketing and exports, he said.

Support and vision

The project has been launched with support and cooperation from the Central Silk Board, the Silk Mark Organisation of India and the Kerala government's Poverty Alleviation Department. The initiative is expected to offer students hands-on understanding of the complete silk production chain while opening up possibilities in entrepreneurship, sustainable agriculture and value-added production.

Source: The Hindu