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Ecoknits, Cia. Ltd. Parque industrial Lote 605, Casilla 01.05.1912 Phone ++593 7
868991 Fax++593 7 868991
Cuenca, Ecuador From
a Sheep to a Sweater: The
Sheep and the Wool in Ecuador |
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The raising of
the sheep: The sheep was brought to the Americas by the spiniest conquerors.
Since this time sheepwool was used by the indigenous people being spun by
hand. The sheep race was called after a certain time criollo, being a mixture
of current races of the 16th century. Especially in Ecuador the sheep is
raised in the highmountain areas called paramo, a humid cold area about 4000
m high. They live in flocks in a very natural way, without much influence by
the shepherds. There is very little care apart from certain deparasitation.
In recent time wool quality was improved by the introduction of coridale and
rambouilet sheep. Especially in the area of Salinas in the province of
Bolivar, situated in the slopes of the Chimborazo, which is with 6300 m the
highest mountain in Ecuador, due to international assistance wool has
improved a lot and is now matching international standards |
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The selection
of raw wool: the sheep is shorn once a year, mostly during the dry
season end of august. The technique used is with scissors designed for this
purpose. There is a selection of the wool in this stage, separating the dirty
parts for second quality. It is packed at the side of cutting and transported
to the spinning mill without any further treatment. At the mill, after
verifying the weight, the wool is checked again for quality of the fibres and
colour. This is especially important because the quality depends highly on
the raw material. For the wool we asking for a high percentage of long
fibres are necessary. Spinning the wool: The raw wool
is washed with a detergent three times: The first is for eliminating the dirt
and dust, the second is for cleaning part of the lanolin and after rinsing it
is washed again with water for being ready to be collected in the cardigans.
In the cardigan the wool is mechanically combed and after this it is joined
to a single gauge yarn. This yarn is put on conic and then is joined to three
or four gauge wool. |
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