We want to share with you this letter from David, one of the original founders of the Green Mountain Spinnery co-operative, who would like to share his thoughts about our responsibility to the land.
Today we are reminiscing that 32 years ago, as we were washing our wool from our local shepherds with our used Maytag ringer washer, the Rural Development arm of the US Department of Agriculture was offering low interest loans to companies engaging in activities that support local farming.
We had been noticing over the years that the declining large sale textile industry in the US kept shrinking and commercial scouring opportunities were disappearing, about to become no longer available anywhere in New England.
So, we applied for and won a $20,000 low interest loan to build our own very small scale upgraded scouring system. We went from two tubs passing the fibers by hand back and forth between one used Maytag set of ringers refilling the tubs each time it went from one to the other…. to… a new system still in place today of a small scale scouring line with 4 squeeze rolls. Our local mechanical experts had visited the one remaining large scale scouring plant at that time in Rhode Island, and returned- with a plan using all locally available parts in its construction.
What if we had this wish today, when the Farm Bill which was due to be passed last year, but never made it, and now when all Federal agencies are being slashed…randomly without regard to their function for our society. What would we do?
So far we are just thankful when there was a Federal Department of agriculture which then under the first Bush administration included opportunities for a small fledging company seeking to assist shepherds to get back something for all the effort they were putting into producing these golden fleeces for the waiting hands of a creative, artistic skilled and determined community of hand knitters and weavers.
These shepherds were leading the way in figuring out how caring for our soils (aka souls) with their grazing practices, love of their flocks of sheep, and keeping our pastures healthy and beautiful.
Today, Feb 2025, we are so thankful for this historic opportunity back then, so significant to what we can bring to you. And wow, so grateful to our knitters, weavers and shepherds contributing to our little coop still here in Putney today.
Sadly at this time, with no next US farm bill approved , plus any agriculture support programs like Natural Resource Conservation Services being eliminated, there is from the top no interest in supporting small business developments like these.
Who is going to be left to combat climate change by making our soil biology more able to hold water when the floods come, with cover cropping plus grazing that makes the earth more resilient in those rugged downpours? This is all part of agricultural practices that conserve this land that we love.
Still, at the Spinnery, we have seen this incredible upsurge of a determined public. We are all choosing, against all odds, to not be silent when a few billionaires are seeking to shut all this creativity down.
Thank you to every member of our textile related community for your determination to engage with us in a beautiful land based project, keeping the spark of stewardship alive and aflame.