The Eco-value icon “Handmade” enables you to identify products that have been handmade by artisans.

Silk

The culture of a nation is defined by its ancient traditions that are passed down from generation to generation. The silk weaving is a tradition that has been introduced in Cambodia in the 13th century through the Silk Road that ran through Southeast Asia.

After the sad reign of Kmers Rouges in Cambodia (1975), certain techniques of silk weaving, including among others the IKAT or called “hôl” in Khmer, was in jeopardy.

Pepper

Refining pepper is absolutely essential regardless of the origin of the pepper. It consists in cleaning, sorting the grains and to calibrate, firstly to remove the external material (stones, grains of rice …) found in the crude pepper, and secondly to remove damaged corns which tarnish the aromas of the lot.

If big companies use expensive and imprecise machineries, this step is done by hand at Starling Farm. The corns are carefully sorted one by one to the tweezers to keep only the best.

Sugar

Wild coconut palm sugar is obtained from the juice of palm flowers. The wild coconut palm sugar from Cambodia (Scientific name : Borassus flabellifer) is not to be confused with palm oil, his distant cousin that grows on an industrial scale in Indonesia and Brazil. The juice is drained flower stems of male and female palm sugar. The male flowers produce palm juice for 3 months while females provide fruit juice for almost 6 months. Some farmers are able to harvest the juice all year round, but the collection is usually from November to March. Harvesting is done by hand by farmers who have to climb up the tall palm trees.

By purchasing a product “Handmade”, you help young people, especially women in rural areas by giving them a work where they can earn a living with dignity.