Kolar Silkworm Cocoon Market and Sericulture Heritage

Kolar district is integral to Karnataka's silk economy, with weekly cocoon markets (kambada santhe) where silk farmers sell fresh silkworm cocoons to private and cooperative reeling units. The district's mulberry gardens are irrigated from tanks and borewells, and the sericulture tradition is several centuries old — the Mysore kingdom actively promoted silk cultivation across the Kolar-Ramanagara belt from the 18th century. The Cocoon Market at Kolar town is one of the most active silk auction centres in India, setting benchmark prices for the Karnataka silk industry. Kolar's silk cooperative sector has several reeling cooperatives that spin the cocoon filament into raw silk yarn and sell to the Mysore Silk Factory and private weavers in Varanasi, Kanchipuram, and Bengaluru.