THE OVEJA PROJECT COOPERATIVE
THE OVEJA PROJECT COOPERATIVE
Reprinted from the Southwest Weaving News
Issue 19 March 2024
Editor Lin Bentley Keeling
Reprinted from the Southwest Weaving News
Issue 19 March 2024
Editor Lin Bentley Keeling
Hello all!
I had a great conversation a couple of weeks ago with Katy Lente, president of The Oveja Project Cooperative, which works to help promote and grow the sheep industry in New Mexico, about the project and its work as well as her own life a small-scale sheep keeper. Katy was deep into lambing season when we talked and at that time, she had 20 new lambs from her 35 ewes and 3 rams. She has Ramboulliet and a small clutch of endangered Karakul and enjoys having sheep around. -Lin
The Oveja Project Cooperative is a New Mexico organization working to reinvigorate New Mexico’s sheep industry. The organization began about 6 years ago with Dr Alexandra Eckhoff, a veterinarian associated with the New Mexico Livestock Board, who noticed that the sheep industry in New Mexico was waning and put out feelers to revitalize wool industry.
Oveja is the Spanish word for sheep and sheep have been in New Mexico since they were brought to the region by the Spanish more than 400 years ago. The industry fell apart after the US federal wool subsidy was discontinued in the 1970s. The Diné (Navajo) people continue to raise and use sheep, but generally wool and meat production have steadily decreased in the state. Currently, there are about 400 wool producers in the state, many of them small scale keepers, and most of the wool produced in New Mexico is processed and shipped to China. One of the country’s largest wool processors is based in Roswell, NM. Producers receive pennies per pound for their hard work and investment. Meanwhile, most of the wool and yarn purchased in the state comes from Australia and New Zealand. The Oveja Project Cooperative is working to turn this around with several initiatives and annual events as well as educational programs.
One such program is a presentation about Small Sheep Keeping on March 16 at Gutierrez Hubbell House, (Gutierrez Hubbell House Alliance (gutierrez-hubbellhouse.org)) 6029 Isleta Blvd SW in Albuquerque, NM. A trio of veterinarians will discuss aspects of sheep health requirements, and breeds with an emphasis on heritage breeds. Rena McClain will share her breed study of wool to yarn. This is a free event.
In 2018, the group identified a lack of trained shearers in the state and began hosting a shearing school. The third shearing school will take place in Belen in April. Ten students will learn to hand shear a sheep using highly specialized shearers as well as hoof trimming from hand-blade shearing expert, Kerry Mower of Hyer Wools (https://www.hyerwools.com). Hand shearing is more comfortable and less stressful for the sheep as well as the shearer and spinners desire wool that has been sheared by hand rather than by an electric blade which crushes the fibers. The next shearing school is scheduled for April 18-20 in Belen. The fee for hands-on students is $450, which includes a meal, while auditors can observe the process for $75. Fleece evaluation, sheep age determination and inner eyelid testing for anemia will also be discussed.
Drop spindle instruction by the Enchanted Spinners of Albuquerque (Home | Enchanted Spinners) and a felting workshop by Svea Peterson will be held April 20-21 in conjunction with the Shearing School. Fees and materials information will be available closer to the event.
Another initiative is the Oveja Project’s 2-year internship program which trains participants in all aspects of wool processing and the different steps between the sheared wool and yarn including skirting, scouring, combing, carding, spinning, and plying and the different modalities of textile production including knitting, crochet, weaving, felting, etc. The “spinterns” are paired with wool producers in the state as they work toward developing a product and bringing it to market. The first cohort is entering its second year. Good candidates for the program have an interest in small scale sheep and wool production, are capable of devoting their time and energy to the program to develop their skills and to seek a niche with a specific producer. They need to be resilient, flexible, creative, and work well within a group. The Oveja Project is also working toward developing a lamb internship in meat cutting with a USDA processor in El Rico. They hope to place 10 interns in both programs with support from New Mexico Workforce Solutions to assist with financial support for interns and connections to stable employment in the industry.
In another project, they have reinitiated the New Mexico Make-It-With-Wool contest. This year, Albuquerque-based Dropped Stitch Knitters Guild (Dropped Stitch Knitters Guild) will provide a cash award for knitting but anything sheep related can be entered from a dish with lamb, a cut of meat to a pelt that has been tanned, or a fleece to any knitted, crocheted, felted, woven garment or dyed and/or spun yarns as long as the product is made of at least 60% wool or other animal fiber. Make-It-With-Wool will take place in October. More news about this as it becomes available. Check out the NM Make-It-With-Wool Facebook page.
The Oveja Project Cooperative welcomes anyone interested in getting involved in elements of the sheep industry—breeding, farming, shearing, milling, working with wool, showing sheep, marketing lamb or serving lamb in a restaurant. A monthly Zoom meeting is held the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 4 PM Mountain Time.
Membership in the Oveja Project Cooperative is $15 per year for individuals, $5 for children up to 18 years of age and $25 for businesses or clubs. They currently have an email list of about 100 and about 30 paid members. Fundraising is also done through the sale of their “Ewe and I Can Change the World” t-shirts ($26 for short-sleeve, $32 for long-sleeve) and from day students at their workshops and events.
For more information about the Oveja Project, its programs and initiatives, contact Katy Lente, President at [email protected]. Follow them on Facebook at The Oveja Project | Facebook
I had a great conversation a couple of weeks ago with Katy Lente, president of The Oveja Project Cooperative, which works to help promote and grow the sheep industry in New Mexico, about the project and its work as well as her own life a small-scale sheep keeper. Katy was deep into lambing season when we talked and at that time, she had 20 new lambs from her 35 ewes and 3 rams. She has Ramboulliet and a small clutch of endangered Karakul and enjoys having sheep around. -Lin
The Oveja Project Cooperative is a New Mexico organization working to reinvigorate New Mexico’s sheep industry. The organization began about 6 years ago with Dr Alexandra Eckhoff, a veterinarian associated with the New Mexico Livestock Board, who noticed that the sheep industry in New Mexico was waning and put out feelers to revitalize wool industry.
Oveja is the Spanish word for sheep and sheep have been in New Mexico since they were brought to the region by the Spanish more than 400 years ago. The industry fell apart after the US federal wool subsidy was discontinued in the 1970s. The Diné (Navajo) people continue to raise and use sheep, but generally wool and meat production have steadily decreased in the state. Currently, there are about 400 wool producers in the state, many of them small scale keepers, and most of the wool produced in New Mexico is processed and shipped to China. One of the country’s largest wool processors is based in Roswell, NM. Producers receive pennies per pound for their hard work and investment. Meanwhile, most of the wool and yarn purchased in the state comes from Australia and New Zealand. The Oveja Project Cooperative is working to turn this around with several initiatives and annual events as well as educational programs.
One such program is a presentation about Small Sheep Keeping on March 16 at Gutierrez Hubbell House, (Gutierrez Hubbell House Alliance (gutierrez-hubbellhouse.org)) 6029 Isleta Blvd SW in Albuquerque, NM. A trio of veterinarians will discuss aspects of sheep health requirements, and breeds with an emphasis on heritage breeds. Rena McClain will share her breed study of wool to yarn. This is a free event.
In 2018, the group identified a lack of trained shearers in the state and began hosting a shearing school. The third shearing school will take place in Belen in April. Ten students will learn to hand shear a sheep using highly specialized shearers as well as hoof trimming from hand-blade shearing expert, Kerry Mower of Hyer Wools (https://www.hyerwools.com). Hand shearing is more comfortable and less stressful for the sheep as well as the shearer and spinners desire wool that has been sheared by hand rather than by an electric blade which crushes the fibers. The next shearing school is scheduled for April 18-20 in Belen. The fee for hands-on students is $450, which includes a meal, while auditors can observe the process for $75. Fleece evaluation, sheep age determination and inner eyelid testing for anemia will also be discussed.
Drop spindle instruction by the Enchanted Spinners of Albuquerque (Home | Enchanted Spinners) and a felting workshop by Svea Peterson will be held April 20-21 in conjunction with the Shearing School. Fees and materials information will be available closer to the event.
Another initiative is the Oveja Project’s 2-year internship program which trains participants in all aspects of wool processing and the different steps between the sheared wool and yarn including skirting, scouring, combing, carding, spinning, and plying and the different modalities of textile production including knitting, crochet, weaving, felting, etc. The “spinterns” are paired with wool producers in the state as they work toward developing a product and bringing it to market. The first cohort is entering its second year. Good candidates for the program have an interest in small scale sheep and wool production, are capable of devoting their time and energy to the program to develop their skills and to seek a niche with a specific producer. They need to be resilient, flexible, creative, and work well within a group. The Oveja Project is also working toward developing a lamb internship in meat cutting with a USDA processor in El Rico. They hope to place 10 interns in both programs with support from New Mexico Workforce Solutions to assist with financial support for interns and connections to stable employment in the industry.
In another project, they have reinitiated the New Mexico Make-It-With-Wool contest. This year, Albuquerque-based Dropped Stitch Knitters Guild (Dropped Stitch Knitters Guild) will provide a cash award for knitting but anything sheep related can be entered from a dish with lamb, a cut of meat to a pelt that has been tanned, or a fleece to any knitted, crocheted, felted, woven garment or dyed and/or spun yarns as long as the product is made of at least 60% wool or other animal fiber. Make-It-With-Wool will take place in October. More news about this as it becomes available. Check out the NM Make-It-With-Wool Facebook page.
The Oveja Project Cooperative welcomes anyone interested in getting involved in elements of the sheep industry—breeding, farming, shearing, milling, working with wool, showing sheep, marketing lamb or serving lamb in a restaurant. A monthly Zoom meeting is held the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 4 PM Mountain Time.
Membership in the Oveja Project Cooperative is $15 per year for individuals, $5 for children up to 18 years of age and $25 for businesses or clubs. They currently have an email list of about 100 and about 30 paid members. Fundraising is also done through the sale of their “Ewe and I Can Change the World” t-shirts ($26 for short-sleeve, $32 for long-sleeve) and from day students at their workshops and events.
For more information about the Oveja Project, its programs and initiatives, contact Katy Lente, President at [email protected]. Follow them on Facebook at The Oveja Project | Facebook
