Cambodian raw silk is really beautiful yellow color. When the raw silk gets sunshine, it shines golden so that we could say as the Golden Silk. The formal name of the variety of the silk worm which produces yellow silk thread is a multivoltine cocoon. The most famous area for golden silk is in Phnom Srok, on the hills above the Great Lake or Tonle Sap in NW Cambodia. The golden silk thread is a single, roundish filament, with excellent light reflecting surface that produces the fine luster of the Khmer silk textiles.

The yellow raw silk is surprising for most foreigners, because they used to see Japanese and Chinese white raw silks. The yellow raw silk has the original good quality compared to Japanese and Chinese raw silks which are too developed by breeding improvement. The yellow raw silk has the same good quality as Yuuki tumugi and Ueda tumigi traditional Japanese textiles) of 50 years ago. It can be washed roughly by hands.

Golden silk supports rural families

There are over 500 families producing Khmer golden silk yarn in the region of Phnom Srok . The production of silk is also a mutli-crop argiculture product. Mulberry trees are planted on .5 hectres to 2.5 hectres family agriculture land, in addition to vegetable and fruit trees, and rice, thus providing a rural family with the means for income.

Raising silk worms (or nean [neang] in Khmer language) takes special knowledge and care, and is predominately done by women. The knowledge of raising worms, and harvesting the silk thread, and processing the thread into correct quality yarn for weaving, is passed down through generations. Due to the neglect of mulberry plantations during nearly 30 years of war and political strife, Cambodia's golden silk yarn production decline from 1960's of 150 tons/year to about 6 tons/year today. Thus, not only is this special quality silk highly beautiful but also rare. All the silk textiles woven in Cambodia prior to the war was woven from Khmer golden silk. Now, 100% Khmer golden silk textile can be purchased by special order.

The quality of all silk textiles woven in Cambodia is still high due to the weaving and designs. Like most other silk textile weaving countries like India, Thailand, and Italy, Cambodia uses the best monovoltine silk threads as well, imported from China.