Tim Frakes Productions

Micro Enterprise and Silk Production in Bangladesh

Posted by timfrakes | Filed under Asia, Culture, Education, Interesting Places, Nature, Peace and Justice, Tim Frakes Productions, Travel

Have you ever wondered how silk is made? Outside Saidpur, Bangladesh I toured a silk production facility. The small factory is a non-profit operation (RDRS) that provides jobs and economic opportunity for women in this poor nation.

The silkworm is the caterpillar of Bombyx mori, the domesticated silk moth. The silk moth is entirely dependent on humans for its reproduction and no longer occurs naturally in the wild.

At the factory, the women, dressed in colorful saris, collect and sort huge piles of golden silkworm cocoons. Once sorted, the cocoons are immersed large into vats of boiling hot water.

This is bad news for the silkworms inside the cocoons! The hot water sparks a chemical reaction that allows the spun cocoon to unravel. Silkworm cocoons are natural bobbins made of one continuous strand of silk thread. After boiling, the cocoons are cooled and taken to a loom and unraveled.

The raw silk thread is then wound onto a spindle, dried and shipped to a textile factory.

Tags: Bangladesh, Production, RDRS, Silk

Read more | Comments (1) | April 8th, 2010

Brookfield Zoo, Holiday Magic

Posted by timfrakes | Filed under Culture, Education, Interesting Places, Nature, Tim Frakes Productions, Travel

Each December, the Brookfield Zoo, Brookfield, Illinois hosts Holiday Magic, a festival of lights, ice and animals.

Tags: Brookfield Zoo, Holiday Magic, Tim Frakes Productions, Video

Read more | Comments (0) | December 31st, 2009

The Isle of Arran in HD 720 24p

Posted by timfrakes | Filed under Education, Europe, Interesting Places, Nature, Tim Frakes Productions, Travel

open source video, online video platform, video streaming, video solutions This is an image essay recorded on the Isle of Arran, Western Scotland, July 8-9, 2009. Locations include the ferry crossing from Ardrossan, Blackwaterfoot, King’s Cave and Lochranza. The Isle of Arran is known as “Scotland in miniature.”

Tags: Arran, Europe, Isle, Kings Cave, Lochranza, Scotland, Tim Frakes Productions, Travel, Video

Read more | Comments (5) | July 14th, 2009