Silk is generally produced from cocoons of the silk-producing moth, commonly called the ‘silkworm’. The cocoon, formed from an unbroken fibre secreted from the caterpillar’s body, is gathered and the fibre unwound in a labour-intensive exercise.

The silkworm, however, has some competition in the form of the moth species Gonimbrasia Postica and rufobrunnea - wild moth species (non edible species) and often mistakenly linked to the Mopane worm (edible species) because the G.rufobrunnea occurs on mopane tree, that possess the same ability to produce silk than their far more famous relative, the silkworm.

The first wild silk harvesting and processing operation was established in the late 1980s near Francistown, Botswana. The first involvement of the CSIR was in 1991, when a silk company from Botswana approached CSIR for assistance in problems regarding the quality of wild silk for the European market. The Botswana operation closed down in 1992 due to poor resource management, but continued to collaborate with the CSIR for a further two years on the reclaiming of silk waste. The involvement of the CSIR in the Botswana wild silk project led it to be involved in the conceptualisation of planning strategies for the establishment of the Wild Silk Project at Ganyesa in the North-West Province of South Africa.

Together with the Department Trade and Industry, North West Province Department of Economic Development and Tourism, Northern Cape Department of Economic Affairs, Dr Ruth Mompati District Municipality and Kagisano Local Municipality, the CSIR is researching the establishment of a wild silk industry in the region.

Research is also being done on the quality of the actual silk fibre produced, skills transfer, the creation of a viable market for the silk and a commercial pilot will be established at Ganyesa in this year.