Sustainability

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The integral Xisqueta project

Xisqueta is the brand supporting a project of local dynamisation that we carry out in the Catalan Pyrenees. . Our aims are

to get the shepherd job back through the promotion of the Xisqueta and Merino breed wool.

. Therefore, we help shepherds who protect this breed and we have created a wool craftsmen collective. Our mission focuses on maintaining alive ancestral knowledge and to adapt to our contemporary society, under the direction of the designer Marine Mercieux. Design freshens up handcraft technics and explores the wool potential.


llana

Wool

A local resource

Each Xisqueta item and product are connected by a unique job, an extremely beautiful land, a material protected from oblivion and a talented local craftsmen network willing to work with material coming from their land. In the end it is just a common sense: What could be better than making the most of the resources, to transform them locally and to commercialize them? Xisqueta loops the loop in this way.


pastors

Shepherds

An alive profession

Each year we buy the wool from the Assua Valley shepherds at a fair price. From the beginning we have bought more than 60 tons of wool from 25 flocks with which we realize various transformation and commercialization processes: textile, interior design, raw material for shepherds and building insulation.

Do you want to know the shepherds involved in the project?


artesanes

Craftsmen

A territory production

We have created a craftsmen network with various people from the area. They form the production team of the project and make a main part of the products of each collection by creating unique masterpieces. They work with different technics: felt, weaving loom, knitting and crochet needles. Numerous items are dyied with natural colorants from plants and insects.

Do you want to know the craftsmen involved in the project?


marinemercieux-web

Design

Marine Mercieux
Designer of the 2014, 2015 and 2016 Xisqueta collection

"Each one may be an actor of change. In my case, my tool is the design. For me it makes sense if we can rethink new paradigms that enliven our time: how to give back meaning to productions in the respect of people and earth. After all, this is what we usually call, local development.

It deals with social and environmental responsability and it's a fascinating path to walk in! It deals with knowleges empowerment, crafts and techniques, with the creation of collective and go ahead cooperating.

Meanwhile we always repeat the history of creations when everything already exist, it's a fantastic ground to explore. It makes me happy because it push me to move forward, to weave story, to build comunities. Trought craftsmen, we maintain culturals pillars which linked people to their surroundings.

This is what I want to give and open new fields for sharing and dream! "

www.marinemercieux.com