hiWOOL
hiWOOL
Promoter: Associação Salva a Lã Portuguesa
Partners:Selbu Spinneri AS, Norway;
Multilãs Unipessoal Lda, Portugal;
SIFO, OsloMet (Consumption Research Norway SIFO, Oslo Metropolitan University);
D_TEX Lab, FAUL (Laboratório de Desenvolvimento Têxtil, Faculdade de Arquitectura da Universidade de Lisboa).
EEA Grants: 14 398,10 €
Total Amount: 15 998,10 €
Grace Code: PT-BI049
Programme:What did this initiative focus on?
Portugal and Norway have a long tradition of sheep and wool breeding. Currently, almost all the wool is used in Norway, while in Portugal, as in the rest of Europe, most of the thick or coloured wool is considered waste.
The hiWOOL - Network for heritage and innovation for the future of WOOL project, with a duration of 18 months, is an initiative of the "Save Portuguese Wool" Association, created in 2015 with the aim of promoting the sustainability of the wool cycle and safeguarding the culture and tradition of wool heritage in Portugal.
There are around 15 local sheep breeds in Portugal and 12 in Norway, each with a unique history.
The wool from these sheep breeds is mainly a by-product of milk or meat production. Wool from different sheep breeds varies in texture, colour and softness. This beautiful diversity should be preserved as part of the responsibility for local breeds.
hiWOOL aims to share knowledge between Portugal and Norway in promoting the sustainability of the wool cycle and exploitation of wool products, for small producers of autochthonous sheep breeds, based on the study of cultural similarities and differences between the two countries.
During the course of this initiative, field work will be carried out in both countries, wool product development workshops, tradition research in museums and archives, whose preliminary results will be presented on the partners' pages and social networks and the final results presented and debated at the project's closing seminar in November 2022.
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