“Cotton 100%” – this is the inscription that housewives all over the world are looking for when they buy a towel, clothes or a tablecloth on the kitchen table. It means that the product is made of pure cotton, which means it will be practical both in winter and in summer.
But few people know where and how cotton is produced. Below we will tell you where and how cotton is grown, which is also called “white” gold.
Why is cotton “white gold”?
Textile factories today produce a variety of fabrics, most of them from synthetic fibers. Products made from such fabrics are worn for a long time, do not wrinkle and do not wash, but remain unnatural, and therefore less pleasant.
Cotton is considered a natural fiber, therefore it is breathable, absorbs excess moisture, and is also pleasant to the touch. The price of cotton products is higher than synthetic ones, but this is understandable: in order to make a product, you first need to grow cotton, harvest it and transport it to the factory.
The cultivation of cotton in the country is considered to be no less important than the extraction and production of jewelry, which is why it is called “white” gold.
Uzbekistan is a leader in cotton production
Yes, it is true: Uzbekistan ranks first in the Eastern Hemisphere and a leading position in the world in the cultivation and production of cotton products.
The main competitors of Uzbekistan in the production of silk are India and China.
How cotton is grown
The process of growing cotton can be divided into two phases: planting and harvesting. You can’t even imagine how much work needs to be done to deliver cotton to the factory, and then produce quality products for the whole world.
Landing
Growing cotton is somewhat similar to planting corn, although the process is not manual: the locals use a special technique to speed up the process.
The planted cotton is regularly watered and fertilized, and when the bushes reach a height of 70 cm, flowers and small cones appear on them, which the locals call “bolls”.
The most important thing in the process of growing cotton is to monitor the maturation of the bolls. As soon as this happens, watering in the cotton fields stops and the cotton drying process begins, and white spherical fibers are visible from the bolls.
These are exactly the fibers that you think of – this is silk.
Remember the process of making popcorn? If you shoot the drying and opening of the box on the camera, and look at it in accelerated mode, then the processes are very similar.
Picking cotton
The harvesting process is interesting: people go out long before dawn and heat, tie aprons and occupy the beds. Typically, each picker stands between two beds to pick cotton in two places at once.
By the way, cotton continues to grow even when the bolls have already opened. This is how green flowers appear on the tops of the bushes, which are especially beautiful at dawn, when there is still dew.
All the harvested cotton is baled and transported to the collection points twice a day.
Why should every tourist take part in the cotton harvest?
Everything is simple here: growing and picking cotton is a very important tradition in Uzbekistan, therefore such events are accompanied by fun, songs and long festivities (however, those who have at least a little strength and energy left after field work walk for a long time).
For those tourists who decided to take part in the cotton harvest, local residents provide accommodation. Typically, this is a bed in sports schools or farms. So tourists can combine daytime work in the fields with evening fun: gatherings around the fire, Uzbek songs with a guitar.
Agree, such a vacation is much more pleasant than sitting in a hotel in front of the TV. And it is even more pleasant to wear cotton clothes when you know the details of the production process and independently took part in it.