A project organised by the Valle Vigezzo Folklore Group in collaboration with the Rossetti Valentini School of Fine Arts Foundation.
The Valle Vigezzo Folklore Group is organising a workshop dedicated to the various stages of wool processing, from spinning raw wool to creating a “Tricoté,” a typical double-breasted, white wool jacket knitted by hand.
In collaboration with the Gaiadilana Association, which focuses on using and promoting local wool from their flock, we will cover the different stages of spinning, while members of the group will demonstrate and assist in the preparation of a Tricoté.

The workshop consists of three, 2-hour meetings on Saturday afternoons, from 14:30 to 16:30.

Goals:
Sheep and goat farming has always been important for the Ossola Valleys. The Alpine people of the Vigezzo Valley always took their goats, sheep and cattle up to the mountains during the summer months.

Their animals provided them with many products, including milk, cheese and meat. Their sheep provided all the wool they needed to produce clothes such as socks, vests, sweaters and shawls to keep them warm during the long, harsh winters. They also used wool to make mattresses for the “sciuri” (wealthy people), since they still slept on leaf-filled mattresses.
Today, the frenetic pace of life has changed our way of living enormously, but some people, like Gaia, still take their flocks to the mountains and process wool in the same way as it was done in the past.
The workshop aims to highlight traditions. The culture of mountain women, in this creative, manual work has been lost today but we believe it can be a starting point to pass on the knowledge of the past to new generations, to teach them that working with our hands is not a waste of time but is actually recovered time for a better quality of life.

The course:
Number of participants: min. 4, max. 10

Gaiadilana
After a technical-scientific education as a computer engineer, and several years as an electrical engineering teacher, I started to get involved in processing the wool of native breeds from northern Italy, initially as a hobby and then full-time. Over the years, I also began to raise a small, and then increasingly larger flock of sheep, which expanded to include Tibetan yak, goats and eventually cows.
Currently, my main activity is as a transhumance breeder of cows and goats (www.vakevaka.com), with time dedicated also to sheep shearing and artisan wool processing (www.gaiadilana.com).
Gaiadilana sprang from a need to give both cultural and commercial value to local wool and traditional techniques used with this material, which is currently undervalued and classified by law as ‘special waste.’
Gaiadilana, which was a cultural association to start with, is now merging with the transhumant livestock farming business, encompassing all stages of the supply chain, from the birth of the animals to the production of the final product.

What I do

• Breeding – a transhumant herd of cows and a small flock of goats and sheep
• Shearing – including on behalf of third parties and smaller flocks
• Educational workshops – on shearing, spinning and felting for both children and adults
• Artisan processing – of yarns, felts, natural dyeing

Local wool and its uses
Not long ago, sheep’s wool was considered ‘white gold’ due to its versatility and the fact it could be used to make a variety of everyday objects and clothes.
Following economic globalisation, the Italian and European markets were flooded with wool from Australia and New Zealand, processed in the Far East and imported at low cost.
Soon, Italian wool lost competitiveness, and the entire wool processing supply chain collapsed.
Currently, we face the problematic situation of having to dispose of and treat sheared wool as special waste.
Due to this prolonged disinterest in processing local wool, its quality has also declined because, for example, shearing is done only once a year instead of twice to save costs, and the know-how of processing techniques is being lost.
However, there are various uses for this more ‘rustic’ wool: in construction, in manufacturing carpets and home accessories, and in processing the finest parts for clothing.

Gaiadilana Products
– Yarns from native breeds of northern Italy
– Hand-knitted socks using the five-needle technique
– Felt objects
– Soaps made with beef tallow from our herd

A minimum contribution of €90 is required to support the Foundation, which will partially cover operating costs.