A Silky Connection

Once the threat of cold weather is decidedly over and the picnic season is well underway, the mulberries make their apparition in Afghanistan; falling from attractive mulberry trees to adorn the ground with a pearl white, lace pink or dark purple hue. According to local experts, the mulberry is a primary fruit crop, originally brought to Afghanistan to support a highly specialized silk industry.

As it turns out, the sole food source of the silkworm is the leaves from the drought resistant mulberry tree. The silkworm cannot survive without the mulberry tree, producing an intimate connection and finest example of one species’ complete dependence on another for its existence. In Afghanistan, it also provides an example of how a society can benefit from such symbiotic arrangements.

While delicious fresh or dried mulberries are sold at the local bazaars in Kabul, the delicate work of collecting cocoons from the mulberry tree and producing silk by hand continues in cities such as Herat situated in the northwest part of the country. According to Wikipedia, mulberry silk is the finest and the most valuable variety of silk.

Photos from left to right: Afghan picnic summer 2006; Safi the Chef at Justice Sector Guesthouse June.08; Dish of mulberry June.08; silk scarf woven by master silk weavers in Kabul using ancient silk route traditions and purchased at the Zardozi shop, Kabul, Afghanistan.