Cotton is part of the broader California agricultural system wherein shifting practices opens pathways for whole systems regeneration. For the past year, and throughout a planting cycle, Fibershed has been visiting cotton growers throughout Northern and Central California in an effort to understand the system as it is. This is an examination formed through proximity […]
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Landscape as a Whole at the Hulsman Ranch
Written by Sarah Lillegard and photographed by Paige Green There is a term shepherds use for hill sheep that have become bonded with a specific area of the landscape: hefting. These sheep live and graze without fences by becoming bonded to a location. This bond is passed on each generation so that the flock maintains a […]
Read MoreCalifornia Cotton Fields: a Renewed Opportunity for Rebuilding Soil
Written by Esha Chhabra with photography by Paige Green America’s history with cotton is contentious — to say the least. The crop became the backbone of the colonial economy and was the driving force of slavery as an institution and a labor force that historians say is “necessarily imprinted on the DNA of American capitalism.” […]
Read MoreFrom Sheep to Shawl: Family Fun at UC Elkus Ranch
Written by Sasha Wirth and Photographed by Koa Kalish It’s a bright summer day. Children are chasing chickens and sheep are being shorn. Lambs and baby goats wobble and prance about. The sounds of laughter and delighted squeals mix with the throaty crowing of a rooster. Around 300 visitors have come to UC Elkus Ranch […]
Read MoreChoreography and Skill: How Sheep are Sheared
Written by Marie Hoff with photography by Paige Green except as noted Shearing is that unique seasonal dance between human and fiber animal. It’s the act that offers us wool and fine fibers to wear, knit, and sleep upon. But for people outside the agricultural sphere, shearing can appear as a cause for confusion or […]
Read MoreInside the Shearing Shed with Kinkade Shearing
Written by Marie Hoff and photographed by Paige Green Shearing is that unique seasonal dance between human and fiber animal. It’s the act that offers us wool and fine fibers to wear, knit, and sleep upon. But for many outside the agricultural sphere, shearing appears as a cause for confusion or even concern. To learn […]
Read MoreShearing and Welfare: Why are Sheep Sheared?
Written by Marie Hoff Shearing is that unique seasonal dance between human and fiber animal. It’s the act that offers us wool and fine fibers to wear, knit, and sleep upon. But for people outside the agricultural sphere, shearing can appear as a cause for confusion or even concern. To learn more about this critical […]
Read MoreSoft Steps & Solid Heart at Rhoby’s Ranch
Written by Marie Hoff & Photographed by Paige Green “I keep getting interested. There keeps being more to learn, so I get more interested, and learn more, and the more I learn, the more I keep getting interested,” muses Rhoby Cook of Rhoby’s Ranch. Surrounded by oak and conifer trees, tucked in a valley of […]
Read MoreShifting the Impact of our Clothing: Tips from the Fibershed Community
Written by Jess Daniels with photography by Paige Green and infographics created by Fibershed The latest large-scale assessment of the systems and supply chains that get us dressed reveals that the fashion industry’s sustainability efforts have “slowed by a third in the past year” and overall are “not moving fast enough to counterbalance the harmful […]
Read MoreWeaving as a Way of Life at Oakland Fiber
Written & Photographed by Koa Kalish By the time Sheng Lor was old enough to go to school, she already knew how to embroider. Born into the Hmong culture of Laos, the Oakland Fiber founder grew up within a culture that sees sewing, indigo batik and dying, and the intricacy of embroidery as highly regarded […]
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