In 2015, we brought sheep back to the Hirsel for the first time in three decades. And in choosing the Hebridean breed, we were choosing for the environment, size, beauty, and intelligence. But when we sheared them for the first time the following summer, we learned that we had not chosen them for the value of their wool.
The poor value afforded to wool from most breeds is keenly felt by farmers up and down the UK now. But in 2016, we felt we were on the front lines of the problem, with Hebridean fleeces worth nearly nothing at the Wool Board, and prized by only the most discerning of fibre artists. What a long fall from how it was prized by small farmers a couple of hundred years ago, before the white wool of commercial flocks edged the breed nearly out to extinction. So we started looking for ways to add value back into this sustainable, replenishing, weather resistant, carbon storing farm product.
Since then, we’ve met many like minded shepherds. And the problem of how we value wool, here in the UK and around the world, has spread even to the commercial flocks. It costs more to shear our sheep than most shepherds are earning from their wool harvest. We decided we wanted to be part of the solution, and have joined with other farmers, crofters and crafters to start Highland Wool CIC, to support a sustainable wool industry in Scotland.
By offering a home for Highland Wool to build a low-impact mini mill, and by donating time, labour and funds, we are not only investing in the Scottish wool industry, we are investing in the future of the Hebridean sheep we’ve come to love, and the sustainability of our farm too.
You can visit Highland Wool’s website at https://www.highlandwool.scot/ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/HighlandWool. Or write: info@highlandwool.scot.
The Hirsel 