History

The history of wool begins in Asia Minor during the Stone Age about 10.000 years ago. Primitive man living in the Mesopotamian lain used sheep for three basic needs: food, clothing shelter. Later on man learned to spin and weave. As primitive as they must have been, woolens became part of the riches of Babylon. The warmth of wool clothing and the mobility of sheep allowed mankind to spread civilization far beyond the warm climate of Mesopotamia.

           Between 3000 and 1000 BC the Persians, Greeks and Romans distributed sheep and wool throughout Europe as they continued to improve breeds. The Romans took sheep everywhere as they built their Empire in what is now Spain, North Africa, and on the British Isles. They established a wool plant in what is now Winchester, England as early as 50 AD. The Saracens, nomadic people of the Syrian-Arabian deserts, conquered Spain in the eighth century and established a widespread wool export trade with North Africa, Greece, Egypt and Constantinople.

          Sheep moved West with civilization and beyond; at the turn of the 18th century small flocks in the hands of pioneers started the industry in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Sheep are as versatile as the fiber they produce. All parts are used; they provide tender, delicious meat…and wool is a renewable resource. Sheep thrive in almost all nations of the world, often in rough, barren ranges, or high altitudes where other animals cannot survive because of lack of vegetation. Sheep can survive and flourish on weeds and vegetation other animals will not eat, therefore they convert to protein a group of natural resources, which would otherwise be wasted. Sheep fill our food and fiber needs today just as they have for centuries.