Workshop — Viana do Alentejo (Portugal)
The artisan tradition of wool production is intimately connected to the natural fondness that men and women have for their sheep, docile beings with dark wet eyes and bulky fur.
· Viana do Alentejo
· Casa da Várzea
This is why our journey begins with the sheep, campaniças sheep to be more exact. One of the last rustic sheep breeds in Europe, thanks to its resistance on the Alentejo plains, they have become an ecological sign of the territory.
In Viana do Alentejo we will find them in their bucolic setting, admiring their character and especially their wool, softer than other breeds.
Clube ADU proposes a weekend dedicated to the ancestral practices of the wool cycle, accompanied by a tasting of the gastronomic specialties of the Alentejo, which means good cheeses, sausages and wines, bread and stews, for starters. We learn and try out sheep shearing and carding, we observe the spinning instruments and finally we set foot in the process of felting. A process that recovers collective traditions from the rural world with a very contemporary sensibility. An activity driven by a group of people dedicated to artistic and artisanal creation and research..
