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| Farmers feeding silkworms |
A shift of business is imminent in Kakamega
County as a group of women embrace
silk worm
farming, a novel economic venture in the area.
Ms Emily Bruno, the Chairperson of Iguhu Silk Worm rearing group from Ikolomani
constituency says members resolved to give the activity a try after undergoing
training organized by International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology
(ICIPE) in which worms’ economic value was evident.
“The fact that 1Kg of thread extracted from
silk worms cocoons sell at Sh625 as compared to a similar
amount of beans and maize that cost Sh200 and 80 respectively, motivates the
group and nothing could stop us from taking up the challenge,” said Ms Burono.
Unlike other economic activities which
require huge chunks of land, silk worm
rearing requires less than half an acre land to take off.
Besides the worms has a life span of only
30 days before forming cocoons from which thread is found. Each one of
the 100 members would require just a quarter acre of land to rear up to 40, 000
worms.
Ms Bunoro explains that the same piece of
land can hold up to 1, 000 stems of mullibery tree plant enough to feed the
worms in order to realize impressive yields of between 7-10Kgs of threads every
month.
Initially women ran into crisis after it
emerged that rearing caterpillars was abhorred and looked upon as witch-craft
in the community.
“Both experts and the women were at pains
to explain and convince men reason they settled on silk worm rearing project in the face of many others,” explained Ms
Bunoro.
When the group placed their first order for
silk worm from ICIPE in Nairobi,
they were forced to rear them in a Kitchen but suffered a loss after the worms
died compelling ICIPE to intervene and assist the farmers put up a recommended
structure for breeding.
ICIPE sold them 20, 000 worms at Sh500 and
charged the group another Sh250 for transporting the caterpillars from
Nairobi. “We sometimes order for the worms eggs but many a times we go
for a day old caterpillars,” Ms Bunoro said.
Some members’ especially men who initially
embraced the project got tired along the way leaving only 35 to carry on.
“We made another order and adhered to all requirements including feeding
culture, hygiene and security,” explains Ms Bunoro.
In order to assist the group to go on well with
the project Agricultural Production Agri-business Programme (KAPAP) trained the
women on handling special machine bought for them by the World Bank to extract
fibre from silkworms.
Cocoons usually form after 30 days and then
dried in the sun for 10 days to ensure worms inside do not break them and
transform to butterflies “because that will mean no threads can be extracted,”
explains Ms Bunoro.
With readily available market, the project
has become a source of livelihood for not only the members but also several
locals including those supplying the group with the mulberry plant that is the
main feed for the worms.
Ms Bunoro says threads are sold to ICIPE or
fabric processing plants that usually add value to the fibre through refining
and making pieces of cloth out of it.
Grade one Cocoons produce high quality and
quantity fibre for the group. “We sample the Cocoons according to quality
and boil them for at least 15 minutes to make the fibre loose and make threads
extraction process easier.” A single Cocoon can yield at least 1kilometre
long fibres.
The machines supplied to the group include
Spindle winding, Silk reeling and re-reeling machines
that help the group add value to the fibre in a small way.
Nonetheless, the venture calls for high
standards of hygiene to ensure the worms grow health and give more
yields. “Between two to three days, we feed the caterpillars on sliced
tender leaves of the mulberry crop before introducing them to mature leaves
after four weeks,” said group members.
They feed in the morning during lunch time
and in the evenings every day. The leaves must be harvested early to get
rid of moist in them before being fed to the worms. “While plucking the
leaves, one has to be careful not to let them get contaminated as that can
cause diseases in the worms and eventual death.
But while a sleep, farmers are advised not
to place feeds in the worms’ special feeding trays because it is the same time
they develop and transform from one stage without necessarily feeding on
anything. “Change in skin colour is a clear indicator of growing worms,”
says Ms Bunoro.
A farmer must be on standby monitoring the
feeding behaviours and the worms and identifying those showing signs of sickness
to separate them from the health ones. “The takers on which worms are
kept must be raised to protect them from Rodents and Safari ants attacks.”
The worms are put in Spinning mats in which
they form the Cocoons in their fourth-week. 400 worms occupy one spin
mat. A part from fibre, the caterpillars’ droppings is used as manure by
the farmers who collect and share it amongst themselves.
On the other hand the Mulberry plant has
medicinal value according to Mr Julius Mukaisi, a local. “It treats minor
cuts, stomach-ache and related complications,” he explained adding that the
leaves could as well be cooked and served as green vegetables.
Ms Burono said the project could become a
major revenue earner in the area if more funds are invested in it. “We
want the project to expand and incorporate as many people as possible for us to
realize its full potential,” she said.
