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Teec Nos Pos Regional Wool Processing Facility

Although surveys have found that an average of 58 percent of families are involved in livestock and fiber production, only a small percentage are able to use their own wool. Recent interviews with wool producers and fiber artists identified these significant barriers to using locally grown wool:

  1. access to water,

  2. an affordable heat source for heating water,

  3. faster methods for picking and carding, and

Diné Fiber Arts and Weaving Sales Committee

In 2004, six Navajo weavers approached DBI for assistance in organizing their own rug auction so that they could exercise control over management and income from this endeavor, while training the weavers how use their own or locally-produced wool to earn more income from their work. Since that time, the group has successfully conducted rug auctions each year during the Sheep is Life Celebration. Criteria accept only fiber arts made with 100 per cent wool, with a premium placed on using handspun, Navajo-raised wool in natural colors or vegetal dyes.

Spin Offs

Learn New Skills and Add Value to Diné Sheep and Wool

Spin Offs are informal groups of sheep herders and fiber enthusiasts who meet monthly to share knowledge about sheep herding, fiber arts, and the latest news. Hands-on learning of new techniques and reinforcing traditional methods are the focus of each community Spin Off.

Sheep Is Life Celebration

17th Annual Sheep is Life Celebration

June 17-22, 2013

4 Dibe' Nitsaa Spin Off Groups

Spin Offs support innovation to help Diné sheep and wool producers to :

develop prototypes of marketable products that can become the foundation for value-added local businesses; participate in peer-to-peer mentoring and knowledge sharing with family and community members; learn marketing skills to more efectively present and sell sheep and wool products; utilize the DBI's resources for technical needs, manufacturing time, resource requirements, and production costs

Wool Processing Facility

Teec Nos Pos has proposed a locally-managed wool processing set-up to meet the needs of Navajo producers with hand-operated cost-effective and resource-efficient methods that streamline traditional home processing. Roof collection of water and solar hot water heating; hand-turned drums for opening and cleaning; lanolin sludge recovery and water recycling; a pulley system for lifting wet, heavy wool from wash tubs into the dye bath; solar drying racks; and hand-operated carders producing batts and roving. Hand-spinners can use either the traditional lap spindle or a spinning wheel to produce the yarn for weavers. The facility will be powered with a solar/wind electrical generating system.

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