A New Ewe for the Holidays

No need to make a list and check it twice, there’s a new breed of sheep in Sweden to put under your tree that’s guaranteed to keep on giving long after the reindeer have left town.

Story and Photos by Linda N. Cortright

It’s not easy being a sheep in Sweden. The war chant of Western consumers for über fine fibers has successfully eliminated countless heavy wool breeds, and the economics of keeping sheep just for their fiber, fine or otherwise, is rarely profitable. It is a problem that Sweden shares with many other countries, but unlike most, Sweden has taken a proactive stance in shifting the tide.

At the 2010 Jämtland Christmas festival held in Ostersünd, Sweden’s “new” wool made its debut. Literally taking center stage at one of the largest holiday events in the country, an assortment of products featuring the new Jämtland sheep set in motion a wooly revolution, but it’s not the first.

Wooly creations designed to intrigue and inspire on display at the Christmas festival.

Wooly creations designed to intrigue and inspire on display at the Christmas festival.

At one time the hills of Sweden (many of which were the hills of Norway, depending upon where you stood) were occupied by flocks of Värmland and Dala Fur sheep. Their fleeces were heavy, their wool was thick, and their pelts made for cozy warm nights by the fire. Beautiful to look at with spiraling horns and soft rounded muzzles, many of the native Swedish sheep fell out of favor almost 500 years ago. The Vikings had a different agenda beyond showcasing ovine pedigrees, and with much of the livestock industry focusing on cattle and pigs, sheep breeders were struggling to survive. Then came Jonas Ahlströmer who envisioned big plans for a Swedish textile industry.

The ullFORuM building where the sun has just crested the horizon shortly past eleven o’clock on a December morning.