☰ WOOL
Knowing the Land
Cabeceiras de Basto, October 2024
from wool to thread and felt activity with Women of Bucos |
We welcomed Women of Bucos to Landra's house so they could show us, with their hands, how to handle and transform wool, from the moment it leaves the sheep's body to becoming what we wear, what we put on our feet, and what eventually isolates our home (like our body) from the cold and rain.
With shearing of regional sheep breeds, such as the xurra badana and the bordeleira-entre-douro-e-minho, we became accustomed to the behavioral peculiarities of their wools.
We learned to wash, tease, card, and spin this precious material, and we also experimented with felting using various methodologies.
Now we are focusing on producing high-quality felt for thermal insulation and waterproofing of housing structures. Our research and future practical experiences will aim to optimize the manual processes of raw wool processing, with the intention of efficiently transforming the wool while preserving its unique biochemical and mechanical properties as much as possible.