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Silkworm feeding on drought weed opens year-round earnings for semi-arid farmers from world’s hottest textile 

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The introduction of silkworms feeding on drought-tolerant castor plants has opened year-round earnings for farmers in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid areas from the world’s most in-demand textile.

Castor plant leaves provide the perfect food for Samia ricini or Philosamia ricini silkworms which make eri silk. According to the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) information portal an acre can give silk worth Sh1.8 million every year with a ready market available through AGOA in the United States, in the European Union as well as Far East markets. Projected to grow by 8.2 per cent through 2034, eri silk is the fastest-growing textile in the world fuelled by Western consumer demand for high-quality clothes that are made without negatively impacting the environment or harming animals. Other silks are made by killing the silkworm during harvesting while eri silk lets the worm live its natural life cycle.

Additionally, eri silk is regarded as a higher quality textile than both cotton and other silks. This is because it is an all-weather fabric that thanks to its ability to pass heat through keeps you cool in hot weather and warm in the cold. Because eri silk dries with the worm as it cacoons, its fibers are tough and can be spun in the same way cotton is. This means it is easier to spin than other delicate silk varieties and can be made like cotton.

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Eri silk is also extremely soft meaning it does not irritate the skin and can be worn by people with hypoallergenic, i.e., have mild allergic reactions to textiles and cosmetics.

Unlike other silk types, eri is also water absorbent and lasts longer because of its strong fibers. 

Eri silkworms require temperatures of 24- 28 °C and relative humidity of 85-90 per cent to thrive. 

To get disease-free silkworm eggs farmers should contact the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE’s) Duduville Campus (0208632000) in Kasarani, Nairobi, or Tosheka Textiles (0722 837811) based in Wote, Makueni County.

It is said we are what we eat and just like the castor plant which is hardy and grows like a weed in arid and semi-arid areas of Kenya so are eri silkworms. They are more resistant to diseases that affect mulberry silkworms and require less care. “Unlike Eri, mulberry silks require an experienced hand and someone who knows how to treat them, or else they will ooze out their innards from their back and die,” explained Timothy Mutugi a Meru silk farmer.

Eri silkworms are also cheaper to feed  taking just 18 to 22 days to reach maturity depending on how warm where you are rearing them is compared to 30 to 35 taken by mulberry silkworms.

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Eri worms primarily feed on green and violet castor shrub leaves which grow in Kenya and also on the leaves of the Kasseru tree. However, unlike mulberry silks which exclusively eat mulberry, they can also feed on leaves of cassava or papaya, though this is only recommended as a secondary source of their food.

Castor tree seeds are sowed directly as with maize and can also be obtained from Tosheka Textiles. 

Before being fed to the worms, castor leaves are usually washed and the water is dried off using a cloth before being placed on top of the unhatched silk eggs. These eggs can be placed in a box or a flat wooden surface at room temperature in a temporary mud/ brick house. Once the eggs hatch, the larvae begin feeding on the leaves. 

Once they hatch they enter the first instar larvae stage and are transferred to a rearing box where they feed on cut tender leaves two times a day for three days.

Skin shedding or molting then takes place on the fourth day when no feeding is done. 

They then enter the second instar stage where they feed on chopped but mature leaves which are fed to them twice a day for three days. 

In the second molting, lime powder is sprinkled on larvae for uniform skin shedding and to keep their beds dry.

At the third instar stage they are fed three times every day on whole soft leaves. They again last for three days before molting for a day. 

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The fourth instar larvae also take three days when they feed on mature whole leaves with the fourth day being one for molting. In the fifth stage, they also eat mature whole leaves  three times a day for three days before the worm begins changing colour to a transparent yellow from white

“The Eri Silkworm is a very aggressive feeder. Our 5,000 silkworms for example are currently eating more than 70 kilograms of leaves for the next six days before they fully develop,” Timothy said.


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