 I keep my hands over my ears, but the factory women don't have anything to protect their hearing and don't seem to notice the racket. Afterwards, I ask the factory owner why the women don't wear ear protection. He shrugs and says they choose not to. I'm offered a lift in his brand new SUV back into town. I'm struck by the wealth disparity between Bibi Khan and the factory owner. Still, at least silk is being increasingly manufactured in Uzbekistan itself rather than being exported as a raw material to Turkey or China.