Fresh spin on farming silkworms in India — in pictures

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  Tribal silkworm farmers examine moths under the microscope to check for diseases.

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  Members of tribal communities, also known as Adivasis, have traditionally been near the bottom of India’s socio-economic ladder, with some of the worst rates for poverty, malnutrition and life expectancy. The silkworm boom has attracted new farmers, giving them a handing them a way out of poverty.

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  A man sprays disinfectant as silkworms cling on the branches of Arjuna trees. Adivasis have long reared silkworms in the dense forests of Bihar and neighbouring Jharkhand states to make tasar, a copper-coloured silk coveted for its unique texture.

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  Local NGO Pradan has helped train the farmers in several ways, including how to use microscopes to examine and discount diseased moths.

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  “We have helped the farmers plant arjuna trees on the wastelands here. These trees serve as hosts to the moths,” said Pradan’s Shamshad Alam.

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  A silkworm farmer catches a predatory insect.

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  India is the world’s second largest producer of all types of silk, including tasar, after China, and is its largest consumer.

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  A female moth is put inside an egg laying box. The thriving industry in Bihar supplements the tribal communities’ traditional rice farming in a region which lacks irrigation and is at the mercy of poor monsoon rains.

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  A silkworm farmer cuts off the branches of a Arjuna tree to transfer a silkworm on to a leafy tree. It normally takes between 250 and 700 cocoons to make one sari.

Silkworm production has hiked in recent years in India thanks to the adoption of modern techniques. The boom has attracted new farmers, giving them a handing them a way out of poverty. All photos by Dibyangshu Sarkar / AFP Photo