Massimo Annibale Rossi, President of Vento di Terra, attended the delivery of the silkworm eggs to a thousand women of the Zinda Jan district, selected for the project “The Women of the Silk Road.” The first step in the development of the project is done!

Here is the witness of Massimo Annibale:

“Yesterday I had the privilege of participating in an exceptional event: the distribution of the silkworm eggs for the project “The Women of the Silk Road.” It’s the first intervention of Vento di Terra in Afghanistan; we are working with our partner Raada, to understand the mechanisms, the relationships, the potential of the domestic production in the villages. Raada has good experience in this field, and we follow them with a certain deference. Vento di Terra will optimize the product and will open new channels of marketing in Italy.

This long journey began yesterday (18 April 2014). Eight Raada units departed from the head office full of eggs, just arrived from China. The eggs, the diameter of a grain of sand, will hatch Monday. The involved villages are in the Herat area, in a radius of 40 km. Maintain the traditional Pashtun culture: almost all women wear the burka, and participate under the careful supervision of the elders of the Council. My presence as a foreigner, is a sensitive issue … The head of Raada starts by describing the contents of the project and the objectives to be achieved, introducing and explaining the reason of my presence. Preside over thirty women selected in the previous weeks. Following is a detailed description of the activities related to farming of the bug, its characteristics, the dangers of parasites and infections. Raada has prepared a poster with explanatory photos, which will be delivered to each of the breeders.

Every woman, equipped with an identification card, is called and is handed a kit. Each box contains 30,000 precious silkworm eggs, plus two cardboard boxes to contain them and a paper support with holes to allow their growth. In March were planted mulberry trees, whose leaves give nourishment to the bugs.

Women are united, at distance, surrounded by children. The elders, seated on oriental rugs placed on the opposite side of the room, does not intend to make a move. Each woman is called by name and approaches trembling … it is the only time when she is allowed to separate from the group. The kit is delivered, and the veterinarian of Raada verifies she has understood all the process steps. None of them knows how to write, then, as in the elections, they are asked to affix a thumb imprint on the form. The thumb dipped in blue ink is a synonym for ransom, for future and for a small social promotion. We hear them tingle and smile under the their immovable burka.”