A trip to the prestigious sericulture past of the Cévennes, a presentation of the steps involved in making silk yarn, a demonstration of cocoon unscrewing, an archive film on sericulture.

The tour is led by our cultural mediator who will welcome you in the video room.
The first part concerns the breeding of silkworms and the care to be given to them. The worms are present at all stages of the cycle, from May to October, and you can observe them at the end of your visit.
We will then discuss - the history of silk, the growth of activity in the Cevennes and the causes of its decline - the architecture of silk with magnaneries and spinning mills, still visible in our landscapes - the cultivation of white mulberry - Pasteur and the Pébrine.
You will then discover the different steps of the treatment of cocoons in order to obtain the thread, the different kinds of silk threads, and you will see a demonstration of unscrewing. The very difficult working conditions in the mills will be discussed as well as the social history of the region.
Finally, the techniques of moulding, weaving and knitting will be exposed to you, you will discover the Cévenole hosiery, activity very prosperous in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, with its famous silk stockings exported throughout the world.
A 1939 film on sericulture completes the visit.