Greenlandic Wool - VisitSouthGreenland.com

South Greenlandic Wool

With a solid tradition of sheep husbandry in South Greenland, initiated one hundred years ago in 1924 in Qassiarsuk, there is naturally also a tradition of sustainable work with sheep's wool.

Over time, the wool production went from small-scale handicraft made entirely within the region to a more commercial production of yarn and woven blankets, and tanned sheepskins - albeit primarily outsourced to international factories. Also, as new generations have taken over the sheep farms, and as interests and resources have changed, much of the approximately 24 annual tons of clipped wool today is unfortunately burned.

A recent revival movement, however, has worked to reinstate knowledge about how incredibly valuable sheep's wool is, especially when it's produced in such a unique agricultural area as South Greenland. Not to mention, arctic agriculture in South Greenland is now considered cultural UNESCO World Heritage, with "KUJATAA" being inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2017.

In the last handful of years, there has been a wave of new projects and initiatives popping up that put sheep's wool in the spotlight and that give both locals and travellers the opportunity to discover the resource in hands-on creative ways. And with a strong focus on self-sufficiency and reduced waste from the political level, sheep farmers are also thinking more innovatively about how to make good use of sheep's wool.

South Greenlandic wool workers were featured in the Summer 2024 issue (nr 84) of Arnanut, a Greenlandic lifestyle magazine

Ellen K. Frederiksen from Illunnguujuk Sheep Farm, and Elna Jensen from Sillisit Sheep Farm, both in the Qassiarsuk area.

Wool in the North

Watch these videos from an international cooperative project between Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland and Norway that aimed to raise awareness of the value of sheep's wool so to, in turn, increase demand for the resource and hopefully increase local commercial production to meet that demand. The project was funded by NORA, the Nordic Atlantic Cooperation. Judging by the amount of new wool initiatives, it seems like it's working!

In Greenland, the Wool in the North project group travelled to a handful of sheep farms to try out the Farm Holiday Greenland experience and to talk with farmers about how they use sheep's wool today and what their future visions are. The group also stayed in Qaqortoq and took tours & day excursions to wool-related highlights in town and at nearby locations.

Interview with Aviâja Lennert from Tasiusaq Sheep Farm near Qassiarsuk.

See Wool in the North mentioned in Nat Geo Traveller

See South Greenlandic wool culture mentioned in American publication Farm & Dairy.

See more on South Greenland in American publication Farm & Dairy.

North Atlantic Native Sheep and Wool Conference

In July 2022, esteemed Norwegian woolworker and entrepreneur Karin Flatøy Svarstad held the 10th annual North Atlantic Native Sheep & Wool Conference in Narsarsuaq, South Greenland, together with local partners Innovation South Greenland and Agricultural Consulting Services.

The conference welcomed speakers, workshop leaders and participants from approximately 15 countries in the North Atlantic, Scandinavia, Western Europe and North America. Over the course of seven days, there was an incredible amount of knowledge-sharing, showcasing of woolen wares, eating delicious local Greenlandic ingredients and exploring Tunulliarfik Fjord & the surrounding agricultural areas. And knitting, did we mention there was a lot of knitting!?

This year, the conference will take place in the Faroe Islands, and a handful of Greenlandic woolworkers are participating.

Conference

Marketplace

Workshops

Free Time

Dining & Closing Night

NEW Sillisit Yarn

Sillisit Sheep Farm is a wonderful wool-working hot spot located 14 km from Qassiarsuk by gravel road. Henrik Knudsen, a second-generation farmer at Sillisit and the great-grandson of the original inuit sheep farmers in Greenland, learned the skill of spinning sheep's wool from his mother and father. So in the winter months, when there's more time to indoor activities, Henrik (more commonly called Aqqalooraq) and his girlfriend, Elna Jensen, work together to create gorgeous hand-washed hand-spun yarn to sell in their cafe in Qassiarsuk settlement, called Cafe Thorhildur.

Sillisit Sheep Farm is also home of Sillisit Hostel & Cabins which are accommodations for travellers.

NEW Ellen K. Frederiksen Wool Studio

Photo by Magnus B Trolle - Visit Greenland

Photos by Sarah Woodall - Visit South Greenland

Through a generous grant from Lindblad Expeditions' Artisan Fund, Ellen K. Frederiksen from Illunnguujuk Sheep Farm in Qassiarsuk, also home of Illunnguujuk Bed & Breakfast, now has the equipment necessary to open her dream studio where she can work with sheep's wool herself as well as host courses to spread wool-working skills to others. She aims to cooperate with other talented local woolworkers to hold courses about felting, needle-felting, knitting, spinning, weaving and more.

In summer 2024, Lindblad Expeditions visited Qassiarsuk with their National Geographic expedition ship in order to deliver equipment to Ellen and to hold a wonderful little ceremony in her honour. It was such an amazing example of how international tourism companies can partner with and benefit local tourism companies.

Tasiusaq's special design for the Qassiarsuk Centennial

Aviâja Lennert from Tasisuaq Sheep Farm and Sermilik Hostel specially designed and hand knit these accessories with Greenlandic sheep's wool. They celebrate and honour the 100 Year Anniversary of Qassiarsuk's founding in 1924 and thus, the start to a whole movement of inuit sheep farming. This tradition and lifestyle of arctic agriculture (in both the Viking era and the present-day era) was honoured as cultural world heritage, being inscribed to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2017.

Aviâja's husband, farmer Klaus Knudsen Frederiksen (more commonly known as Kilaasi), is the great-grandson of Qassiarsuk's founding farmers, Otto & Tiipaaraq Frederiksen. He is also the third generation farmer at Tasiusaq Sheep Farm.

This design and knitting pattern is the intellectual property of Tasiusaq Sheep Farm and may not be copied or recreated.

NEW Yarn & Fertilizer out of wool from
Qorlortup Itinnera

Tupaarnaq Kreutzmann Kleist from Qorlortup Itinnera Sheep Farm and Qorlortup Itinnera Guesthouse announced in summer 2024 that her dream of many years will come to fruition - to make better use of their wool. She plans to send wool from their farm in South Greenland to Sisimiut in the Arctic Circle Region, to be spun into yarn. Keep an eye out for this product in the future!

See Qorlortup Itinnera featured in American publication
Farm & Dairy.

A locally well-known wool product from South Greenland is the Kangerluarsorujuk house slippers, made on-site at Kangerluarsorujuk Sheep Farm. With wool from their farm and their area, they produced an array of felted wool slippers in simple white and with beautiful designs. While they did do small batch washing at the workshop, they more often had the wool washed internationally and sent back to Greenland for further use.

Kangerluarsorujuk Sheep Farm is home to Kangerluarsorujuk Cabin, a very cosy place to stay for travellers.