Four hours on the road, four women, the first wild silk scarves

Four hours. That is how long it takes a 4x4 to reach Tsinjoarivo from Port Bergé, in the Sofia region. This also explains why such high-quality craftsmanship, ,Malagasy wild sericulture, has long lacked a formal market.

From April 20 to 26, 2026, Harena made the trip. What she found at the end of the road was a wild silk workshop already in production, run by four women. Olivia, 47, a mother of three adult children, manages the workshop while also tending to her market garden and livestock. Espérance, 35, weaves with a precision that sets the standard for the group. Synthia, 27, walks an hour every morning to reach the workshop; she has now mastered spinning and dyeing. Dania, 24, the newest member, is a quick learner.

In February, ten kilos of cocoons yielded the first scarves. In March, yarn production increased, boosted by the installation of a miniature loom. A silk industry cannot be decreed from Antananarivo. It must be built where the expertise already exists, provided it is given the right tools, a market, and fair pricing.

Landibe: A Malagasy wild silk industry, in partnership with CMA CGM

Landibe is the project through which Bôndy is structuring a wild silk industry in the Boeny region, based on Borocera madagascariensis, an endemic species whose cocoon produces a rare fiber. This project is part of a partnership with CMA CGM, a global shipping and logistics group committed to working with Bôndy to develop a local, traceable, and profitable value chain for Malagasy producers.

The Tsinjoarivo workshop illustrates the Landibe method: starting with expertise already present on the ground, rather than importing a model from the capital, and building the necessary tools, training, and commercial outlets around it. The Malagasy wild silk industry, currently informal and fragmented, is thus becoming a source of direct income for rural women, while promoting a natural resource without deforestation.