hiWOOL project
Network for heritage and innovation for the future of WOOL
The hiWOOL project – Network for heritage and innovation for the future of WOOL – was an initiative by “Save the Portuguese Wool” Association, launched in 2015 with the aim of promoting the sustainability of wool and safeguarding of the culture and heritage traditions in Portugal.
Funded by the Bilateral Relations Fund, hiWOOL aimed to share knowledge between Portugal and Norway concerning the sustainability of wool and the exploitation of wool products for small producers of indigenous sheep breeds, based on studying similarities and differences between the two countries.
On 12th may, 2021, the project started with the first meeting gathering all partners, with a brief presentation of the activities to be developed, made by the proposing team, a discussion on the parameters that should be selected for the characterization of wool fibers was conducted.
The start of the project was also celebrated with the Shearing Day, at Quinta da Fonte Santa, in Caneças-Portugal, on which 150 sheep of the Bordaleira Serra da Estrela breed, belonging to shepherd Virgílio Ricardo were shorn.
During the project, field work was carried out in both countries, including workshops on the development of wool products and investigation on the wool tradition in museums and archives (click here for more information). The main achievements and results has been presented on the partners’ web pages and in social media, during the project timeline, and a final seminar.
The hiWOOL project features the collaboration of the Selbu Spinneri AS (Norway) and Multilãs, Unipessoal, Lda (Portugal) companies, the research centers Consumption Research Norway SIFO, Oslo Metropolitan University and the D_TEX Lab – Textile Development Laboratory of the Architecture school from the Lisbon University and the local support of the Wool Museum in Covilhã and the Folk Museum in Oslo.
Both teams are now analyzing and characterizing the national wools, and results from that work will be shared on the partners web pages and social networks.
Participants Norway (SIFO)
- Ingun Grimstad Klepp
- Lisbeth Løvbak Berg
Other participants Norway
Tone Skårdal Tobiasson
Selbu Spinneri
From the WPE Lab
Textile Development Laboratory of the Architecture school from the Lisbon University
