The Düsseldorf start-up Rh:ool Yarn processes the wool from sheep that graze on the Rhine meadows in Düsseldorf and Cologne into hand-made yarn. This supports local biodiversity.
The project convinced more than 1,000 Düsseldorf residents in the secret online vote and was thus named the winner, the city of Düsseldorf announced on its Instagram account on Saturday. Rh:ool Yarn founder Frieda Feld receives 4,000 euros in prize money as well as the Future Prize trophy, which was awarded for the first time.
“Frieda Feld impressively shows how ingenuity, curiosity and passion can create new solutions from which everyone ultimately benefits,” said Düsseldorf’s mayor Stephan Keller.
What happens to the wool of the Rheinwiesen sheep?
Feld started Rh:ool Yarn after she learned that the wool had previously been sold to wool wholesalers who offered such a low purchase price that they could not even cover the shearing costs. For the shepherd she contacted, the hobby knitter writes on the company website, the raw material was an annoying addition that came about during the annual sheep shearing.
In spring 2021 she bought around 300 kilos of Rhön sheep raw wool from shepherd Albert Görsmeyer for the first time for a price that would at least cover the shearing costs. The wool was then sent to Austria to be washed because, according to Feld, there are no longer any wool laundries in Germany, and then spun in Wagenfeld in Lower Saxony.
The demand for her yarn has now increased so much that she can process all the wool from the Düsseldorf and Cologne Rhine sheep. In the online shop, the company offers yarn for between eight euros – roving ‘Whisper’ – and 14.50 euros.