Cambodians set world record for longest handwoven scarf, which took six months to weave

Cambodia won a place in the Guinness Book of World Records on Sunday for a 1,100-metre-long version of the country’s popular krama scarf.

Supported by a youth movement with links to the nation’s ruling party, more than 23,000 people took part in the six-month weaving marathon outside Phnom Penh’s Royal Palace.

Thousands of young people then rolled out the krama along a street in the capital on Sunday for a visiting Guinness official to measure the garment.

“With 1,149.8 metres, you have set a new Guinness World Record!” Swapnil Dangarikar, a Guinness adjudicator, told a large cheering crowd.

Long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen earlier gave his own blessing to the campaign by weaving a few strands of thread into the scarf. Youngest son Hun Many, a fast-rising potential successor to his father, represented the 65-year-old premier at Sunday’s event.