Kahoto Zhimomi with Cocoon Harvest
A Muga farmer in Nagaland
Nivibo Y. Sumi
We usually associate the luxurious Muga Silk with Assam, but it was such a pleasant experience to be introduced to the Muga Silk farms at Niuland and Ghotovi Village. In Nagaland we are also more used to seeing hundreds of projects processed on paper alone or mostly failing and going defunct within a few years, but in Kahoto Zhimomi, we met a farmer who has consistently preserved to make his silk enterprise sustainable.
We had the opportunity to interact with Kahoto Zhimomi and his family, as well as with the workers in the silk farm, during a visit to the Sericulture farms run under the aegis of the Nilimi Welfare Society (NWS) where Kahoto serves as the chairman. Among other objectives, the NWS has resolved to take up a project on Muga and Eri culture rearing for Export market in Nagaland. True to this objective, it was good to see the plantations, the worm rearing in different stages and even the machinery already in place to complete a process of Plantation, Seeds, Reeler and Spinner linkage, finally ending in the spun- gold like product- Muga silk. Moreover, according to Kahoto, ‘Among all the silks, there is no silk above Muga silk in the world!’
The silk farm was first established in 2003 on a 5-acre plot of land at Niuland. Kahoto was motivated to enter the silk industry when he was invited to visit a Muga Farm at Golaghat by Chandan Basera, then Dy. Director of Sericulture, Nagaland. Observing the works at the farm, he was inspired by the thought, ‘This will be beneficial for the Naga farmers.’ As such, he decided to start his own Muga farm, which took wing with the plantation of Som trees in August 2003. He has not looked back since then, and has been upgrading his enterprise at every phase.

Apart from the farm at Niuland, there are now two more farms at Ghotovi village spanning over an area of 40 hectares. The sericulture department extended support in the beginning by supplying saplings but all other costs and maintenance are borne by the society. The enterprise now employs 7 permanent workers apart from the full time involvement of Kahoto and his wife Catherine. With this intensive input, the farm has been able to rear the worms and make a harvest by 2008. From 2011, seeds/eggs are processed in the farm itself and now maintains a viable Cocoon Bank.
Today, the hard work of Kahoto and his wife are paying some dividends in the form of perceivable progress in their enterprise. However, profits are marginal as the project is still in the investment stage. By pooling all resources, there is now a Som Plant nursery, which supplies saplings to the Government as well as other farmers. The average annual harvest of cocoons stand at around 50,000 cocoons, but Kahoto is optimistic that this will increase to a harvest of 10 lakh in the coming year. Efforts are on to make the Society’s Reeling and Spinning machines fully functional.
The sacrifices that Kahoto and his society members have to make are well taken as they have a visionary perspective on the future of the silk industry in Nagaland. When asked on what keeps him from giving up, Kahoto reiterates that he considers the benefits to our people especially as Sericulture can be one of the most viable industries suited to the conditions and resources of Nagaland. Apart from that, the production and market potential is very high even to the extent of reaching the global market.
A write up on the Sericulture process explains that there are five varieties of commercially exported silks- Mulberry, Tropical Tasar, Oak Tasar, Eri and Muga. In this area, India is the 2nd largest producer after China, while at the same time being the largest importer and highest consumer of silk in the world. We have ample scope to tap into this market as the golden yellow muga silkworm is said to be unique to the North Eastern States. The Muga and Eri silks are particularly valued due to the natural colour, durability, softness and the thermal properties.
It is projected that Nagaland should be able to successfully undertake this golden industry as we have enough land for plantation of the Som and Soalu trees on which the worms feed. There are also other multifold advantages in that there will be environmental protection as well as provide additional income generation. According to Reelers from the Sericulture Department, who were giving some help at the Niuland Farm, ‘This is a very precious material and an important industry for us. It should do very well in Nagaland, and if a family keeps about 5- 10 Som trees, it will provide income to keep the family for a year.’ They also shared that the Deptt is ready to take in all raw material as the demand outstrips the supply at present.
With dreams of such a rich harvest, the investment into Muga silk Farms have been progressive. At present the Muga and Eri rearing takes place on 25,000 Som plants which are now more than four years old and on 2, 50,000 castor plants. The success attained by the Muga silk Farms of the NWS has attracted considerable attention and some noteworthy visitors to the Farm by the Director of Sericulture from Korea in June 2012. Officials from ATMA who visited in November 2012 were also impressed by the ongoing works and have proposed that a “Farm School” be set up on the premises so that other potential Muga Silk farmers may benefit from the expertise at hand.

To his credit, Kahoto does not rely on rule of thumb alone, but has undergone several trainings on Muga culture organized by agencies under the Central Silk Board. Of more significance is the fact that he has already received two awards in recognition of his achievements. These are the “Best Progressive Eri Farmer under Eri cluster Promotion Programe in Dimapur” awarded by Central Muga Eri Research & Training Institute, Jorhat on 15 February 2011; and as “Best Farmer under Niuland Block, Dimapur (in Muga Rearing) during 2011-2012” from ATMA, Government of Nagaland.
Not satisfied to just rest on his laurels, Kahoto has still bigger plans for the future. He dreams of expanding the Som plant nursery and to be the distributor to all the districts of Nagaland, and the most ambitious project moved so far is to set up a Muga Research Centre on the farm. He believes that the success of these projects would see employment generation for the unemployed Naga youths to a large extent. We can only wish that these aspirations and projects succeed with timely help from all the right quarters; and with that we may see the future of Nagaland look a little more brighter touched with a golden hue.