Wove something I’m proud of! - This outing was a great balance of learning and doing. We saw—first hand—the silk making process. We saw the plants growing, the life cycle of real silk worms, how the thread is created, and watched the weavers work. We then learned to weave ourselves. The project was complex enough to feel like a real experience, but relaxed and easy to accomplish. I appreciate that they let me choose my own colors, design my own pattern and make something (a short table runner) I will actually use at home. We had a nice lunch and learned about other handicrafts in the area. Pick up and drop off was on time and easy. I really feel prepared to weave again if I wish. Thank you!

Fun therapeutic weaving experience - Nice informative silk workshop where you can get to see real worms. For the DIY project, you may choose your own product - scarf, bag, coaster, table runner. I chose the bag and it took about 3h with a lunch break. Therapeutic experience weaving, it is very fun if you are into such experiences! Joe was very friendly, punctual and informative.

Rare & Unique Workshop - It is unique to try the full cycle of silk production from pulling silk strings from cocoons, rolling strings into rolls, then weaving. It could be a bit repetitive if you're going alone and have to be on the weaving machine for 2 to 3 hrs, or you might be completely in the flow & not notice 3 hrs passing by. We went as a big family of 8 so it was quite fun even during the repetitive weaving time. The length of the scarf the workshop was shooting for was 1.8 meters, but none of us could do that long. The longest among us only reached 80 cms and the shop workers said in the very beginning that they could help everyone to meet 1.8 meters (i.e. finish the scarf for us, should we give up at any point... ) but it didn't matter to us wheather it was a scarf or just a small square of cloth we could bring home. It was fun.

A creative day! - I loved this workshop! I went home with two pieces that I made myself, a woven scarf and an eco print. Joe was a great guide… interesting, a native of Chiang Mai, and speaks English very well. All the people at the silk making place were kind and helpful and happy to share their knowledge. I would recommend this class to anyone who loves textile art. I saw and learned everything from silk worm 🐛 to finished product.

A really fascinating tour - This is such a unique tour that more people need to do! If you love the beauty of traditional hand crafts and want to get a taste of how silk is woven, I would recommend doing it with Joe. Joe, our tour guide, has a personal connection with the silk factory so you won’t find this type of tour anywhere else - at least I didn’t! Having said that, the tour did feel a bit disjointed and rushed when it came to some of the activities like the ceramic painting. We went along with it and did enjoy it but it did feel out of place, maybe an explaination of the whole day is needed at the start of the tour or maybe the tour should have a different name/description. The ladies at Cocoon Farm showed us the process from silk worm eggs to raw silk strands, they showed us the mulberry leaves the worms ate and the worms at different stages of growth, it was all fascinating. Would have been interesting to see the process between the unravelled cocoons and final shop floor product. Cocoon Farm itself was a interesting space. We were shown around the organic vegetable garden where the owner explained the idea behind the farm as an educational farm where the produce from the garden will be used in future cooking classes. There are also a small number of animals at the farm. The farm was a little quiet due to the post covid tourist slump but I do really see this place picking up and it being a real fun day out for couples, friends and the family. Joe was a knowledgable and confident tour guide with years of experience behind him. He ensured we had a good time. We later decided to book another tour with him to Doi Inthanon which I would also recommend.

Thai silk weaving - While a little expensive, this was a great day out learning about how silk is produced and turned into thread. We then had great fun weaving our own table decorations, really enjoyable experience. Lunch filled us up nicely before finishing our weaving which we will proudly use on our dining table back home. Great that there was no hard sell to buy silk products but a bit disapointed by other craft shops we were introduced to which felt the opposite.

$100 to weave for 8 hrs? I do not recommend - I read the other reviews but I only got the generic tour of the Thai Silk Village building which was still very cool! You see the caterpillars munching on the mulberry leaves, the staff taking the dried cocoons and pulling the thread out, the dye station, and the weaving machines. That took 30 minutes. Then I weaved… for around 8 hours. Everyone at the Thai Silk Village was so nice and took turns helping me. But I didn’t have a tour guide. The lady who generally walks the groups through the silk making process checked on me from time to time. For the most part, I was left alone. I was confused about how long I was weaving for and what I was weaving so I went slow. Then, I suddenly had to rush when the staff mentioned I was weaving a 1.8 meter scarf a few hours before closing. However, I liked practicing patience and appreciating the labor that goes into handmade products. I’m not sure if weaving silk is very simple but I wish there was more to learn. Stuff like: How do you maintain the nutrition you provide the silk worms? Is there any importance of the dye colors in Thai culture? Are there various ways to weave silk? What are they and can we practice a few lines of each design in the class portion? Other questions I had couldn’t be answered because of the language barrier. With no one to talk to and nothing to learn after getting the hang of it, I regretted the trip. If I could restart my day, I would have done the free guided tour at the Thai Silk Village and then explore another part of Chiang Mai. Maybe I would have liked it if I knew what time I was getting picked up in the morning, a general itinerary and an interactive tour guide that I could ask all my questions to. I really did enjoy making the scarf! And the Thai Silk Village staff are absolutely wonderful so please visit them (and their really good quality gift shop)! But I had a very limited amount of time in Chiang Mai and I paid over $100 in hopes of a good quality day. Please make this experience worth the money people need to pay.