Soil degradation, climate change, economic fragility and fragmentation – these are all challenges that rural areas in South West England are facing – and the cultivation of natural fibre crops, flax in particular, has been re-emerging as a practical and place-based response to these issues, rooted in the heritage and history of the region. Back READ MORE
Tag: textiles
Hemp, Flax, and Fibre Production- Field Trial Report 2024
Download our final report HERE Wessex Community Assets Ltd (WCA) has been working with a group of West Dorset Farmers to explore the logistics of Hemp and Flax as break crops by undertaking field trials in growing, harvesting and processing both crops. The project has been made possible through a grant from the Dorset National READ MORE
Spinning straw into gold
As part of Wessex Community Asset’s work to develop the bioregional economy in SW England, we held a workshop on hemp fibre with 30 participants at our workspace in West Dorset. The process begins with separating (“decorticating”) the outer bast fibre from the woody core (the shiv), either manually with a hemp break or with READ MORE