Man who can make silk without killing the silk worms

Take a bow to Kusuma Rajaiah: A Resident of Hyderabad who produces silk without killing the silk worms.

Have you ever considered the fact that thousands of silkworms are killed in order to make a small piece of fabric? Kusuma Rajaiah started this ahimsa way of producing silk when he was approached by Janaki Venkataraman, wife of former President R. Venkataraman if he had any saree which had notresulted in the killing of any silkworms. This led Kusuma to investigate whether silk could be produced without deliberate killing of the worms.

How did he achieve this?:

Silk comes from the cocoons of the silk worm. In the silk industry, cocoons are killed by steaming or dropping them into boiling water when they are ten days old, before they metamorphose into a moth.

The silk is believed to be the finest at this stage. This is preferred because when the cocoons open naturally at one end, to release the moth, the continuity of the fibre is lost. But maybe not, thought Kusuma.

He purchases cocoons from mulberry farms in Chittoor district. The yellow coloured cocoons are reared in large cane baskets at his residence in Hyderabad. The moths emerge after 8-10 days, piercing the cocoon at one end. “The adult moths have a short life span of four days. During this time they mate and die naturally,” Kusuma explains.

The pierced cocoons are spun into yarn. This is then woven into fabrics. Weavers of Nalgonda and Ananthpur district of Andhra Pradesh produce dhotis while fabrics, including saris, are woven by the weavers of Karimnagar district. “All my products are done on handlooms and benefits several weaver families,” says Kusuma.

Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, he calls this silk ahimsa. While ahimsa silk may lack the shine of regular silk, it is comfortable to wear. It’s also wrinkle-free and has a better fall.

Athough Kusuma is not noticed by many, he is making a huge difference in saving the population of silkworms.