第2921期:Traditional Cambodian crafts are on the brink of extinction

Producing Cambodian silk ikat is a time-consuming, expensive and difficult process.

制作柬埔寨丝绸伊卡特是一个耗时、昂贵且困难的过程。

The results are undeniably beautiful. But the challenges in the creation are driving this traditional craft towards extinction.

结果无疑是美的。但创作过程中的挑战正将这一传统技艺推向消亡。

Keiy Khmer Association with a team of eight weavers in Takeo province is one of the few Cambodian non-profits struggling to preserve this traditional silk ikat handicraft.

位于茶胶省的Keiy Khmer Association拥有八名织工团队，是柬埔寨少数致力于保护传统丝绸伊卡特手工艺的非营利组织之一。

We use imported dyes and silk. When we create a silk ikat from these materials, it is no longer Cambodian.

我们使用进口染料和丝绸，当我们用这些材料制作丝绸伊卡特时，它就不再是柬埔寨风格的了。

So I started this association, hoping to create something truly Cambodian by using Cambodian natural dyes from the nests of Khmer lac insects, the bark of prohut tree, malabar tree, and indigo, also known as plae.

于是我创办了这个协会，希望利用高棉紫胶虫的巢穴、普罗树皮、马拉巴树皮，以及靛蓝等柬埔寨天然染料，创造出真正具有柬埔寨特色的东西。

These are the four primary colors we use to mix and produce textiles and silk ikat.

这些是我们用来混合制作纺织品和丝绸伊卡特染织的四种原色。

The Cambodian Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts says very few remaining Cambodians know how to produce traditional Cambodian silk ikat.

柬埔寨文化和艺术部表示，目前会制作柬埔寨传统丝绸伊卡特的柬埔寨人已经寥寥无几。

If they are old people who know how to bend the silk and tie the knot, that's very good. They are valuable human resources for our country.

若是懂得缫丝结绳的老人，那便再好不过了，他们可是我国宝贵的人力资源。

But the biggest existential threat is the disappearing natural raw materials.

但最大的生存威胁是自然原材料的消失。

Before people raised lac insects in Stung Treng province near the Laotian border, but they stopped already.

以前人们在靠近老挝边境的上丁省养殖紫胶虫，但现在已经停了下来。

Khmer lac may go its thing and malabar trees in various communities are being cut down and thrown away because they think there is no use for the trees.

高棉紫胶虫或许能自生自灭，但各社区的马拉巴树却因人们认为其毫无用处而遭砍伐丢弃。