Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but it should be put to good use. Let’s talk about Bergamo and Brescia, the capital of culture 2023, with events that started almost simultaneously with the presentation of a beautiful project, “Tramando s’innova”, which concerns the world of agriculture, pastoralism and ancient crafts which would be advantageous for all give greater value. The project was presented at the end of last month in Gandino (Bergamo) and is closely linked to social and above all environmental sustainability. In other words, the future of everyone and in particular of young people. Tramando s’innova aims to promote the process of transforming 100% Italian sheep’s wool from special waste to a resource and can count on funding from the Lombardy Region and the Sardinia Region, through Psr funds (rural development programmes) for cooperation between Gal , an acronym for local action group, a term that shouldn’t alarm us in any way. The Gals are partnerships made up of representatives of both public and private socio-economic interests of a territory, hence the adjective local.
The Gal Barigadu-Guilcer (Oristano), the Gal Valle Seriana and the Bergamo Lakes, the Gal Quattro Parchi Lecco-Brianza, the Lane d’ Italy and the institute for the bioeconomy (Ibe) of the Cnr. In Italy, the wool of 8 million sheep, raised more for dairy purposes and meat production than for weaving, is practically unused. Farmers don’t know how to use the so-called wool succidal, the one that has just been shorn and which has yet to be washed, due to the lack of washing centers for small and medium quantities. Some try to keep it while others are forced to dispose of it and pay for it. The reason? The legislation considers greasy wool a special waste and, without the availability of a washing plant, the virtuous theoretical circuit of wool management is interrupted. Yet greasy wool, once washed, has important strengths: it has good technical characteristics and its use would make it possible to build a fully traceable supply chain on the national territory. The northern regions alone have 460,000 sheep producing around 1,380 tons of wool. In Lombardy there are 116,300 animals registered, 78,000 of which are raised by wandering shepherds. According to data from Coldiretti Bergamo, the province of Bergamo, with just over 40,500 heads, has the largest number at a regional level, for a total of 1,145 sheep farms. Of these, 332 farms for 37,547 heads are for meat production, 6 farms for 284 heads are for milk production, 807 farms for self-consumption. Important numbers that should be exploited to the fullest to restart the Italian wool sector, also in light of the growing interest of Tma (textile-accessory-fashion) for this material, which often, for example, fashion companies import from Australia.
Concretely, Gandino is actively committing himself to the reopening of a washing facility which can not only serve the area, but which is also evidence of knowledge, experience and symbol of territorial working skills of a trade, such as washing wool, which otherwise would lost.