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In the year since he received his Rolex Award, Kikuo Morimoto
has further developed Chot Sam, a new village which not only
ensures the education of the younger generation in the traditional
skills that were almost extinguished in Cambodia’s wars,
but also the development of sustainable farming and forest industries.
His silk project now employs more than 500 people. |
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“It became apparent that the war had destroyed not only
weaving, but also the traditional knowledge of the villagers,”
Morimoto says. “To restore this knowledge, we need to
raise a younger generation with the help of the elders who still
possess this wisdom – just as we have restored silk-weaving
techniques over the past 10 years.” |
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Villagers are taking steps towards sustainable farming by making
organic fertilisers from the wastes of the silk-making and dyeing
process to restore their arable land. They use rainwater for
dyeing after discovering – to their dismay – that
the local river water was so laden with pesticides that it prevented
the natural dyes from setting properly. |
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The work of Morimoto’s Institute for Khmer Traditional
Textiles (IKTT) at Siem Reap, home to his first workshops, and
at Chot Sam is garnering attention and visitors from across
Cambodia and abroad. “We have been greatly helped by the
Award,” Morimoto explains. “Not only is there an
increase in visitors and contacts from the Western world, but
also sales of fabric are steadily increasing.”
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