A key partnership was established between UNESCO and the APSARA National Authority in August 2022 for the implementation of the project “Promoting sustainable tourism and private sector engagement for inclusive community development in response to the COVID-19 crisis”, with the financial support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in Angkor.
According to UNESCO Cambodia’s press release dated Dec. 1, the training in silk processes is one of the key project activities, benefiting seven women working for the Mekong Ganga Cooperation Asian Traditional Textiles Museum (MGC Museum) in Siem Reap.
Organised at the Institute of Khmer Traditional Textiles (IKTT), located in Dak Som Village (Angkor Thom district), the training seeks to enhance the skills and knowledge of the MGC Museum’s staff in natural textiles dyeing and hand weaving (including tie-dying, also known as IKAT) and to enrich the collections of the MGC Museum with new textiles, produced during the training, to promote traditional know-hows and the work of Cambodian weavers.
Since August 2022, the seven employees of the MGC Museum have learnt how to execute the following four steps: selection of the silk threads, preparation of the silk: cleaning, drying, and spinning of the threads into bobbins, tie-dyeing of the silk threads: wrapping of the silk thread into the tying stand, knotting, natural dyeing, removal of the knots, and second dying of the silk (up to 4 times, until the final pattern is obtained), and hand weaving.
The project beneficiaries work for the MGC Museum in administration, ticketing, textiles conservation, and as guides. Through this training, they have improved their knowledge about silk processes, and methods used to produce textiles exhibited at the museum and shall apply this knowledge in their work, to enhance the experience of visitors coming to the museum.
Source: Agency Kampuchea Press