Mulberries Organic Silk Farm Visits
Xieng Khuoang province, Laos
Farm Stays & Day Tours
Enrich your visit by learning the silk production cycle and the traditional weaving technique
Please organise your visit in advance and contact us via the Farm Visit Contact Form at least a day before your visit
1 HOUR FARM TOUR
WHEN: Monday to Saturday, 8am – 4pm
COST: Free
Our guide takes you on a tour for an hour walk around the farm and explains our organic silk production along the way. You will see the nurturing of silk caterpillars, the making of natural dyes, the reeling and spinning of cocoons. Meet our weavers at their wooden looms creating fabrics with their shuttles, combs and techniques.
FARMSTAY
COST: 55 USD per person/per night
Includes: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Please let us know of any specific dietary needs at the time of booking with us two weeks in advance. Payments may be made on arrival.
Visitors may take their time to enjoy the blissful surroundings of our organic farm, engage in classes listed above, and sample home cooked Laotian cuisine for breakfast, lunch and dinner during their stay.
We have two farmhouses here:
House One: has one twin room and 1 double room with shared shower room, kitchen, dining area and a washing machine.
House Two: has two ensuite twin rooms with shared kitchen, dining and sitting areas.
Electricity and hot water are available throughout the day; and we have staff living on site to attend to our guests’ when required.
HALF-DAY CLASS AT THE FARM
WHEN: Monday to Saturday
- Morning class: 9am – 12pm
- Afternoon class: 1pm – 4pm
COST: 25 USD per person, or 38 USD to include lunch of Laotian dishes.
Please let us know any specific dietary needs at the time of booking one week in advance. We appreciate receiving payments 3 days in advance.
Visitors may choose two of the below options for half a day
(1) Handpick mulberry leaves from the field to feed our caterpillars in the nursery
(2) Hand-reel fine threads from pots of heated cocoons, then hand-spin the raw silk into smooth yarns and onto spindles ready for dyeing or weaving.
(3) Have a go at hand-weaving on the benches of the wooden looms – using the arms, the legs and strength of the back spine, and with sense of rhythm and attention to detail as traditional weavers do, to complete lengths of textiles.
Or engage their half-day class in the more lengthy process of
(4) Making natural dyes with raw materials (grown on site or with village farmers) by our methods that can achieve a hundred more shades without the need of chemicals.
2-3 NIGHTS STUDY TOUR
COST: 45 USD per person/per night
Includes: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Student groups of up to thirty may enjoy learning at the farm for a minimum of two nights, or a recommended three nights.
In flexible sleeping arrangements filling House One and House Two with three meals a day, the group is to engage in scheduled classes as well as to have fun around the nighttime campfire and more!
Our Organic Mulberry Silk Farm
Located only minutes from the archaeological landscape attraction, The Plain of Jars, The Mulberries Organic Silk Farm in Ban Lee once had its land devastated by wartime bombing; but its acidic soil had been turned into fertile ground through Mrs Kommaly and her team’s perseverance over the years.
All are welcome
With the support of the local government, the farm is included in the official tourist map for Xieng Khuoang province; and it has been opened to public, offering free tours around the site since 2010. Everyone is welcome to come see us and our work in action here.
Interested tourists, students, and researchers have been able to enjoy the blissful greenery of our planted fields, observe the processes of sericulture, learn of our methods in making natural dyes, meet our farmers and makers on site, hear about the social causes of our efforts, and purchase end products of the fair trade operation that ranges from textile to skincare, tea, fruit juice, jam and wine – as nothing goes to waste!
Basic Production Cycle
Animals are bred for manure as fertiliser; mulberry trees are cultivated for its leaves to feed silk caterpillars from egg to cocoon; silk filaments are reeled, treated and spun into yarns; raw materials for making natural colours are grown on site for yarn dyeing and fabric dyeing; quality textile products are then woven or knitted for national and international markets.
We run the complete process of silk-making
Animals are bred for manure as fertiliser; mulberry trees are cultivated for its leaves to feed silk caterpillars from egg to cocoon; silk filaments are reeled, treated and spun into yarns; raw materials for making natural colours are grown on site for yarn dyeing and fabric dyeing; quality textile products are then woven or knitted for national and international markets.
Research and Training
Committed to researches in deepening our insight in sericulture, we continuously train people with such knowledge. Collectively, our staff and network of village families have become a community engaged in maintaining Lao’s heritage of its rich textile tradition and beautiful landscape.
Mulberries Organic Farm
in Xieng Khouang province
Ban Lee, Route 7, Muang Pek District,
Xieng Khouang Province
(30 meters past bus station)
Tel: +856 61 213 362
Tel: +856 20 5552 1408
Please organise your visit in advance and contact us via the Farm Visit Contact Form at least a day before your visit
