Yesterday, in the meeting at the Municipality of Cerkno, in the context of the study circle for Sheepbreeding and its opportunities in the Idrija-Cerkno rural areas, took place the presentation of the completed cross-border project LANATURA, covering the Idrija and Cerkno areas. The Municipalities of Idrija and Cerkno also participated as project.
The project, presented by the project manager Klavdija Kancler with the Agricultural and Forestry Institute Nova Gorica, is trying to find new, more modern ways of using sheep wool, which is still regarded as a minor product of the sheep. Although in recent times wool is used in finished products more and more, a lot of it still remains unused, which ends up as waste in landfills or breeders of sheep and goats either burn it or bury it.
The aim of the project LANATURA is to increase the quantity of processed wool and reduce the amount of waste wool, revive traditional uses and to explore and introduce modern use of sheep's wool, hides and skins and animal fats in handicrafts and the economy in Slovenia and Italy. Several project activities have been performed, such as a cross-border network of creative workshops and visits to learn about good practices and the revival of ancient techniques for processing wool and hides, cross-border education and training of those involved in the process of acquiring high-quality woolen fibers and processing using various techniques. A research for quality and usefulness of sheep fibers of different breeds of sheep has been carried out ... The project covers an area of Gorizia, the Coastal-Karst region, Gorenjska, Central Slovenia, Inner-Karst, Province of Udine and Gorizia and was co-financed under the Program for cross-border cooperation Slovenia - Italy 2007 – 2013, financed by the European Regional Development Fund and national funds.