Prohut tree used to color silk in Cambodia is endangered

Siem Reap/Cambodia – The Cambodian Prohut (Garcinia Vilersiana) is a wild plant that grows in Cambodia’s forests and mountainous areas and has always been a central part of Cambodian natural dye.

Weavers used to boil the tree’s bark to extract yellow and green colors, locally named Prohut Color, to dye different types of fabric.

However, Prohut trees are rarely found nowadays due to forest encroachment and the decreased need for using natural pigment under the increasing use of chemical colors in the market today.

Moreover, Prohut’s bark can be used as a natural remedy to treat some diseases or ground into a powder that is mixed with other substances to be applied to the skin, so it becomes smooth and shiny.

Prohut color was traditionally used by Cambodians as dark yellow extracted from its bark was used to soak the Buddhist monk’s robe in pagodas in times past.

During the Khmer New Year in April, Khmer people in villages soak the Prohut flowers in water and leave them until the afternoon to leave the water fragrant, and they take the water to bathe their parents for religious ceremonies.

Midori, managing director at the Institute of Khmer Traditional Textiles (IKTT), said that the silk colored by Prohut color is high quality, brighter, more durable, and suitable for all levels of people.

“Japanese people prefer using Khmer silk naturally produced by our factory and do not use chemicals. Therefore, let the Cambodian people and the team continue to produce more of this product to meet all market needs,” she added.