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Welcome to The Nude Ewe! Our philosophy is 'waste equals food'.
Nude Ewe wool is spun from the fleeces of Bedfordshire's conservation grazing flocks. Grasslands are a key feature of the English countryside. For centuries these habitats have been maintained by grazing sheep and other livestock. Without these animals our fields would turn to scrub, and we would lose the unique plants and animals that rely on our grassland habitats. The best sheep for conservation grazing are heritage breeds. These ancient breeds are very hardy and can handle adverse weather conditions. They will eat rough grasses, twigs and bramble that modern breeds won't touch. This keeps the scrub from taking over. Unlike modern breeds however, heritage breeds tend to be small and slow growing. Many produce excellent meat and fleece but because they grow slowly are not used commercially. Many of these breeds are now disappearing and some are close to extinction. Sheep must be sheared every year. This costs farmers money, and the fleeces themselves are worth only pennies. It also costs money to repair fences, maintain shelters and deliver medical treatment. We're working to help conservation graziers recover these costs. To do this we're turning waste fleeces into a commercial product: yarn! Proceeds from the sale of the yarn will be returned to the grazier. In this way we hope to encourage more people to use heritage sheep breeds to graze Bedfordshire's grasslands for nature conservation. Who are we? The Nude Ewe is a partnership between BedsLife - Bedfordshire & Luton Biodiversity Partnership, Bedfordshire County Council and GrazeBeds, a project of the Wildlife Trust. For more information on The Nude Ewe contact Laura Downton, Grazing Sites Officer on 01234 362776 or laura.downton@wildlifebcnp.org, or Heather Webb, Biodiversity Partnership Co-ordinator on 01234 228063 or heather.webb@bedscc.gov.uk. Exciting news! The Nude Ewe has been featured in the June 2008 issue of Yarn Forward magazine, a fresh and funky publication based in Hertfordshire. Check it out at your local news agent! We'll be out and about this summer. Come visit us on July 5 at the Clapham Country Fair, and at the Woodworks! festival at Millennium Country Park on Sept 5-6. Do pay us a visit! Coming soon: Nude Ewe 'Wes' - fabulous white DK weight wool from a South Bedfordshire flock of Wensleydale sheep. Wensleydales are the softest sheep in Britain and are on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust watch list. The fleeces are at the mill and we'll let you know when the wool is ready. So watch this space and wrap yourself in lovely woolly Wensleydale warmth!
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The Nude Ewe is now on Facebook!
Nude Ewe in the News! (June 2008)
(Issue 42)
(June 08)
(April 08)
(Spring 2008)
(Mar 14/08)
(Mar 14/08)
(Mar 27/08)
The Nude Ewe is a partnership of:
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