Koh Dach may be a short way from Phnom Penh, but its a world away from the capital’s hustle and bustle. Koh Dach is dotted with weaving communities.
The main silk weaving centre is about 1km from the ferry landing. It houses a series of stilted wooden houses, where weavers sit with their handmade wooden looms and create patterned silk scarves and traditional Khmer skirts.
Up until a few years ago both Koh Dach and Koh Oknha Tei were in Kandal Province, then Koh Dach was rezoned into Phnom Penh.
Koh Oknha Tei is home to a silk weaving village and silk centre, where you can see how the whole silk production process works from beginning to end, from mulberry-chomping silkworms through to their golden cocoons through to the complex manual loom weaving process, which requires dexterity and memory that would be the envy of many. The guide explains the entire life cycle of the silkworm, from the eggs through to its brief life as a moth and, if you have never seen this kind of thing before, it is fascinating.
According to travelfish.org and theculturetrip.com
