Once a dominant strand of the country's fashion industry, Thai silk has slowly slipped behind modern fabrics, and the beautiful art of traditional weaving is dying.
Fearing the craft and the material will diminish into insignificance, Wandee Khunchornyakong Juljarern, president of the National Council of Women under the Royal Patronage of Her Majesty the Queen, has taken it upon herself to preserve what is regarded as the soul of Thai culture.
She has set up a project to preserve local woven fabric traditions throughout the country, following in the footsteps of Her Majesty who has a great love of Thai silk. The project also marks the 84th birthday of Her Majesty the Queen on Aug 12. Thai people have long admired images of Her Majesty dressed in Thai silk with exquisite designs adorned with meticulous patterns woven by skilled artisans.
Ms Wandee set off on a journey that took her to fabric weaving centres in the North down to the South. She took along with her local council members as well as people bound by a common passion for Thai traditional weaving.
In the southern province of Surat Thani, the group visited Wanma Thai Silk, one of the largest suppliers of a southern-style woven silk in the region. The shop, which is renowned for its painstaking craftsmanship that involves incredibly delicate patterns, is situated in Ban Phum Rieng, an ancient community which is a home to both Thai Muslims and Buddhists in Chaiya district.
Ms Wandee said most villagers in tambon Phum Rieng are Muslims steeped in the skills of producing unique silk patterns.
Wanma Nuimeem, proprietor of the shop, took the group to places where Phum Rieng silk, a well-known traditional woven fabric of the community, is produced. Silk thread preparation and weaving processes were demonstrated.
Ms Wanma said the distinctive Phum Rieng silk is an indigenous creation of ethnic Malay residents whose artistic heritage comes from their ancestors who lived on the islands of Indonesia. What makes the Phum Rieng silk craft outstanding from the folk woven fabric elsewhere is its fine quality that is embellished with silver and gold threads in delicate damask patterns.
She told the group of how women of bygone eras in Ban Phum Rieng passed on the silk weaving techniques inherited from their ancestors. Later, Buddhist families who arrived in the region began to learn the craft and started weaving Phum Rieng silk for their household use.
The meticulous weaving of the textiles requires several months, and sometimes years for particular items of silk. Despite the painstaking work, Wanma Thai Silk is flooded with orders from within the country and overseas.
Dyed silk yarns reflect their natural sheen, a hallmark feature of silk. Photos by Somchai Boonlour
Prices vary according to the intricacy of the design, while other items are more expensive because they are limited editions. Certain pieces, including some that are unique, can come with a price tag running into six figures.
At Ban Phum Rieng, the group met Wandara Wanmuda and Mareeya Wanmuda, the two sisters renowned for having preserved hand-woven silk traditions that were passed on from Maeriem Wanmuda, their great grandmother who pioneered the famed weaving pattern called Phra That Chaiya, named after the landmark temple in Chaiya district of Surat Thani which enshrines Lord Buddha's relics.
Apart from the Phra That Chaiya design, Ms Wandara and Ms Mareeya also produced the distinctive silk designs called Kotchasi, a fabled animal with a lion's body and an elephant's trunk and tusks, Khom Petch (diamond lantern) and Soi Dok Mak, the small flowers of the betel nut tree.
As the project delved deeper into the craft of silk weaving, Ms Wandee expressed concern over the future of Thai traditional fabrics, saying her extensive tour of the textile manufacturing localities uncovered a singular problem of the younger generation refusing to carry on the family textile business.
The council has decided to pilot a project to encourage young people to treasure their family career in textile making, which is a national legacy.
Aside from the southern region, the group has travelled to other parts of the country to collect data about artisan weaving practices. In the North, they went to Lamphun, a centre of damask-pattern silk, as well as Chiang Mai's Mae Chame district noted for its tube skirts, or pha sin teen jok, of which the lower section is adorned with delicate lines.
Wandee Khunchornyakong Juljarern (third from left) and visitors examine the pattern on a silk cloth at Ban Phum Rieng.
In the Central region, the group observed local weaving at Ban Neon Kham, an old community in Chai Nat.
In the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima, they took a tour to the Pak Thong Chai Silk Cultural Centre in Pak Thong Chai district as well as Ban Faek Non Samran, a silk village in Sida district.
At Ban Faek Non Samran, Ms Wandee said she and her delegation witnessed first-hand the entire production of Thai silk, from growing the mulberry trees to feeding the silkworms, reeling and dying silk threads and weaving.
Apart from the mulberry, the centre grows other trees such as the Indian almond and Golden Shower which give natural colours for dying the silk threads.
Ms Wandee said Ban Faek Non Samran is also a living example of the sufficiency economy initiated by His Majesty the King. It produces and distributes silk products, and the income from sales is shared among the villagers.
Over the generations, residents at Ban Faek Non Samran have harnessed farm products to generate income. After the harvest season, they turn to weaving silk as a sideline industry that earns them extra household income. That eventually led to the expansion of mulberry farmland and the birth of a small-scale, locally-run silk industry.
A worker checks coloured threads which had been spun and dyed before being supplied to weavers who begin their month-long task of producing silk fabric.
Ms Wandee said the council has been encouraging women to dress in Thai silk to keep the fabric and craft alive as well as to celebrate Her Majesty the Queen's birthday on Aug 12.
"I have had the opportunity to visit several regions of the county to explore these unique textile arts. To acquire a piece of exquisite silk, the fabric goes through many production stages. Weaving takes several months, or even years, to complete the work. These handicrafts are invaluable," she said.
Ms Wandee said it was crucial to promote the priceless craft of local textile production among Thais in order to encourage household businesses.
Atcharawan Limlenglert, a council committee member, said each piece of Thai silk is imbued with an identity trait that characterises people of different regions. Different ethnic and cultural backgrounds can be seen in the different artistic styles of the textiles.