Mr Dimas Parasian
Primary Teacher
On 23rd October, the Grade 6 students got the chance to visit Rumah Sutera in Bogor, and it was a trip worth remembering. Leaving the school at 7:30 am, we were lucky that the traffic was not as heavy as we had expected. The hour and a half long journey passed quite quickly and before we knew it, we had reached the facility.
Rumah Sutera, nestled in the cool hills of Bogor, featured 4000 hectares of large mulberry fields, traditional worm-breeding rooms, intricate looming machinery and even a small playground that the children thoroughly enjoyed.
While enjoying our refreshing welcome drinks and snacks, we were introduced to the entire manufacturing process by our tour guide, a professor from Bogor Agricultural University (Institut Pertanian Bogor or IPB). Afterward, the students were divided into four large groups. Each group followed a guide as they explored the farms and the facility.
The excursion gave the Grade 6 students the opportunity to witness, first-hand, the process of making silk from worms and cocoons. We were introduced to mulberry plants, the food for silkworms. There are 10 varieties of mulberry trees in the world, of which Rumah Sutera grows four: Katayana from Japan, Kanva from India, Multicoulis from China and Lembang from Indonesia. In the middle of the briefing, our guide surprised us by handing out a bucket of ripe mulberries to enjoy as touring snacks. He also claimed that the leaves were edible, which we later had for lunch.
Next, we went to see the silk-worms. They were divided into two rooms: one room housed the small worms and the other housed the big worms. The complexity of the process accounts to why Rumah Sutera is known as one of the finest silk manufacturers in Asia - and why silk deserves to be so expensive!
After our delicious lunch, we went shopping for treats to take home. We left the facility on time and the students were finally able to make the journey home: happy, content and a bit more knowledgeable. It was a wonderful and fulfilling day and we are all looking forward to our next learning journey in Semester 2!
