Guwahati: In a bid to open up unexplored horizons of wild silks, the Central Silk Board (CSB) under the central ministry of textiles has partnered with the International Society of Wild Moths (ISWM), Japan, to host the three-day eighth International Conference on Wild Silk Moths in Guwahati from Monday.

In addition to delegates from around the country, representatives from around 15 countries are participating in the conference. It could probably be the only forum committed to presentations and deliberations on modern research and technology in the field of wild silk across the globe.

Muga, tussar, and eri silkworms are not fully tamed and the silks they produce are known as wild silks or vanya silks.

The term vanya is of Sanskrit origin, meaning untamed, wild or forest-based. Vanya silks are distinguished by look and feel as they are procured from the wild silkworms that feed on leaves of castor, kesseru, payam, som, sualu, oak, arjun, asan, sal and other trees found in the open jungles.

The silkworms are domesticated and cultivated for largescale production.

The Northeast produces all three wild silks with production of muga silk, known for its natural shimmering golden colour, mostly confined to Assam.

The inaugural session on Monday was addressed by Assam minister for irrigation, handloom and textiles Ranjit Dutta, joint secretary in the central ministry of textiles (MoT), Puneet Agarwal, ISWM president Hiromu Akai, central minister of state for textiles Ajay Tamta, CSB joint secretary (technology) K.K. Shetty, secretary MoT Anant Kumar Singh and CSB member secretary R.R. Okhandiar.

The contribution of vanya silk to the total production of silk in the country is 30 per cent and is increasing every year.

A Silk Mark exhibition-cum-sale, with 26 stalls from across the region, has been organised at the venue to provide pure silk products.