Chasing a Dream
Wild Fibers editor, Linda Cortright, looks back on a journey that began in 2007 when she met Konchok Stobgais at a cashmere conference in Kyrgyzstan. In August, they celebrated the opening of the first cashmere spinning and weaving center built in the High Himalayas, offering employment to a village of semi-nomadic women. meeting in Central Asia. The story that unfolded in the years since is both inspirational and, at times, unbelievable. Their journey is both inspirational and at times unbelievable.
Shepherds and Spaceships:
Our adventure though Kalmykia (Russia's only Buddhist republic), borders on extra-terrestrial with a former president who claims to have been abducted by aliens. Kalmykis is also known for their top quality Merinos, which have severely damaged the environment, in part, because of Stalin's collective farm system.
- Bani Hamida, Jordan's weaving community
- North Light Fibers, Block Island's micro-mill
- Food and Fiber, Calypso Farm, Fairbanks, Alaska