Koh Dach កោះដាច់ is a village renowned for its silk weaving and such handicraft products. People who come to visit Phnom Penh would go for the half day tour there to see how locals produce silk. The work is beautiful and high quality. Koh Dach is not just a handicraft village, but very famous for locals as well for day tour.
If you want to experience rural Cambodia close to Phnom Penh by just half day away, visiting Koh Dach Island. You can rent a motorbike or buy half day tour to get there. Other options are to go by bicycle - ask for a tour guide for this.
Before reaching the village, you will cross the river by ferry. It is interesting to see women weave scarf or silk at homes. There are some interesting sights on Koh Dach, like a beautiful, unusual temple and attendant grounds, watch a video here for more. The main reason to go here is for the traditional silk weaving which is produced in many home of local people. Google map of the village is here.
Types of hand woven fabrics:
According to Wild Tussah, countries around the regions had its stories of hand woven fabric, but I would like to highlight about Cambodian hand woven fabrics, in summary as below.
** សំពត់ហូល [Samphot Hol] is made from pure silk refers to a hip wrapper, is used mainly in skirt making. It is the most expensive piece of handicraft compared to other products. The Samphot Hol can be divided into four sub-categories, depending on the fabric’s color and design:
- The traditional Samphot Hol: it consists of five predominant colors; yellow, red, black, green and blue, which are derived using natural dyes which are made traditionally from natural ingredients - types of trees that produce different natural color.
- The Samphot Hol Por: it has a brighter tone, and a wider color variety, since it is dyed with chemical substances.
- The Samphot Hol Kaban: it is exclusively worn by men, and they feature much larger than normal end pieces, with intricate patterns. Sometimes worn using the Chong Kaban method (like trousers).
- The Samphot Hol Ktong: it usually features small motifs and stripes interspersed with woven ikat. These motifs, which could reach the impressive number of 200 per piece, are preserved in the artisans’ memories, and have never been documented in any way.
** សំពត់ផាមួង [The Samphot Phamuong]: made from pure silk - is very similar texture to the Hol, but it has a plain pattern with different color than Hol. They are the most luxurious and beautiful type of Cambodian fabric, the ចរបាប់ Chorabap, which is used for weddings and special occasions, belongs to this group. Its motifs are woven with silver or gold fibers, and the ending result is stunning. របាន Raban, another type of textile that belongs to this group, is woven using the same method as Chorabap, but it used colored silk yarn instead of metallic colored fibers. អន្លូញ Anlounh is another type of fabric, which features multicolored stripes, and កានីវ Kaneiv is made with yarn which featured randomly applied colors along its length.
** សារ៉ុង និងក្រម៉ា [Sarong and Kroma]: unlike the previous two groups, which are made of pure silk, this group includes textiles which are made of cotton, silk, or a mix of the two. Textiles of this group are intended to be used in order to make clothes for farmers and everyday people, especially - Sarong, which are a type of wrapped skirt that is widely worn throughout the country. The most common Sarong types are:
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The Sarong Sor (aka the White Sarong), which has very distinctive white lines.
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The Krola Phnom Srok, which features a Tartan-checkered texture.
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The Muslim Sarong, which is mostly woven by the Cham people, which is made using a mix of silk and cotton fiber.
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White twill woven Sarong, which are made using undyed yarn.
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Kroma, a pattern scarf, similar size to that of towel but very light - is used to make head covers, towels, belts and sometimes Cambodian people use it to wrap things, in order to protect them. It usually comes in red and white, blue, or black, but brighter colors such as yellow and green with thin black stripes can also be found.
Facts about the hand-woven fabric:
- Samphot Hol is the most expensive fabric - costs vary based on pattern and quality of silk - from 40- 500$ per skirt
- Samphot Hol is used to make skirt, kaben, suit or a pair of dress to join in official events, national events, wedding ceremonies or represent Cambodia
- Samphot Hol can come in various pattern, colors: animals, flowers, and many more!
- In many cases, Samphot Hol cannot be washed with water. It has to be used with extreme care.
Facts about the silk island:
- Koh Dach is name of the village, silk village was named after its famous hand weaving products, including ក្រម៉ា Krama/Scarf, ហូល Hol, ផាមួង Phamoung, សូត្រ Soth and សឹង្ហ Singh/[high quality silk, pattern silk and plain silk].
- More than a silk weaving village, there are river beaches where you go swim as well.
- Famous for half day picnic tour as well - watch here! and Here!
- Many houses and shops are not readily seen from the road. They are located throughout the village
- There are not many places to eat on the island, just a few local places along the road where you can buy packaged goods like Coke, candy bars, cookies, etc.
Places weave well-known quality silks around Cambodia:
- Phnom Chisor and Prey Kabbas [Takeo]
- Koh Dach [Kandal]
- Prek Changran [Prey Veng]
- Silk weaving centers around Cambodia
Where to buy these products?
- Weaving places such as Koh Dach!
- Orreusey market, Olympic Market in Phnom Penh
- Final products at Artisan D’Angkor shop
There are different patterns of silk weaving between Cambodia and its neighboring countries. Please read here for deep information.
( written : whereas West Bengal villages take pride in their Daccai, Jamdani, and Taant textiles )