Once a six-acre model farm for mulberry cultivation at nearly 4,500 feet above sea level, the area is now a tourist spot at Yercaud.
With ₹2.5 crore from the State Government and ₹50 lakh from the Central Silk Board, the Sericulture Department has developed the area into a “seri tourism” spot.
The first display hall has photos and varieties of mulberry plants. Visitors also get to see the silk worms feeding on mulberry leaves and at different stages of growth. The second hall has machinery that show how fibre is extracted from the cocoons and made into silk yarn. A stifling unit to store the cocoons, cocoon cooking facility, multi-end reeling unit, winding and unwinding machinery, etc are operated to showcase the processes involved. The next hall has a handloom and a weaver demonstrates how silk fabric is woven.
The facility was inaugurated this summer. It is closed down now and will be fully operational again by mid-August, says the Director of the department P. Sri Venkada Priya.
The aim of the tourism facility is to give an insight to the visitors on how silk is made - from soil to silk, adds the joint director of the board M. Raajasekar. A lot of visitors come to Yercaud during summer and weekends. They can see and know more about how silk is made. There is a similar facility at Thanjavur for handicrafts. Based on it, “We initiated the project four years ago,” he says. The board has sought another ₹5.2 crore from the Tourism Department to add more facilities at the Yercaud seri tourism centre.
A model mulberry nursery is also under development. The department will develop a website on the tourism centre. It also plans to have silk trails and an audio visual, says Mr. Raajasekar.
Shops, food counters, scientific games, virtual games, three-dimensional paintings, and a selfie wall add to the attractions at the tourism centre.