Mutur beltz

@gonzaloazumendiphoto

Talent, hard work and the pastures of Karrantza have given birth to an artisan brand that rescues wool that, until recently, had no value and was treated as waste. Today it surprises with its balls of yarn, garments, accessories and tapestries. And they keep winning prizes.

Laura Siles, an artist from Málaga, was in the middle of her doctorate when she heard txalaparta and left the Mediterranean for the Bay of Biscay to get to know it better. She stayed in Bizkaia. She went to Iceland to complete an Erasmus programme tied to her artistic training. “In 2013 I met Joseba Edesa. Since then we have stopped thinking and working individually. Together we started to develop a modest common dream, the combination of our passions in a life project: Mutur Beltz.

This project was born from the pastoral origins of Joseba’s family, infected by our common interest in the world of sheep, taking the black-faced Carranza sheep as a starting point,” explains Siles.

A year later, thanks to a scholarship from the Bizkaia County Council, she returned to Iceland as an artist in residence at Gullkistan, a creative farm in the small village of Laugarvatn. “What a pleasant surprise to find a spinning wheel waiting for me in the studio: Alda Sigurðardóttir, the director of the residency, taught me how to spin,’’ the artist recalls.

Joseba also travelled to Iceland. We visited small women’s cooperatives where they work with wool, and they taught us how to wash, card, spin with a spindle, and so on. When we returned, we had the great satisfaction of making the first ball of wool from the fleece of Joseba’s father’s black-faced sheep’.

Today, Mutur Beltz is a lifelong project that promotes the regeneration of the rural landscape and the recovery of the sheep of Karrantza, always from a creative and sustainable perspective. “We continue to work hand in hand with the shepherds and shepherdesses of Karrantza, promoting the use of local wool and guaranteeing fair trade that supports biodiversity and animal welfare,” says Siles. Since 2017, Mutur Beltz has been buying wool from 15 Karrantza shepherds and shepherdesses every year, creating a circular economy and supporting the first sector, as they pay one of the highest prices in the Spanish state for this raw material.

@elsalopezfoto

Far from being a forgotten resource, the wool of the Karrantzan sheep has come to life in projects that defy the limits of convention. From the impressive 40-square-metre tapestry that adorned the stage of the BBK Live 2024 international festival, to the balls of the Euskadi Federation and the eyeglass frames of MaldeOjo Optika Atelier, each piece reflects Mutur Beltz’s commitment to innovation and the preservation of local heritage.

“Our story is essentially a journey that is constantly evolving, rooted in the earth and in wool, but with an eye to the future,” concludes the artist.