Mission
The Southwest Fiber Alliance supports local economies in Southwest Colorado and surrounding areas by bringing together farmers and fiber arts enthusiasts to share knowledge, resources, and heritage.
Vision
Our vision is to have a thriving community of fiber production, art, and craft in the region, including educational and cultural opportunities for the community as well as infrastructure for processing fiber into new products.
Goals
To build a wool mill or other fiber processing infrastructure so that local and regional producers can more easily sell their wool and/or get it processed.
To provide education in fiber production and fiber arts for adults and youth, with the goal of passing on and preserving these skills to future generations.
To support local farmers and ranchers who produce fiber animals in order to help sustain the industry as it faces the impacts of climate change as well as instability in agricultural markets.
Board Members
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Karinne Knutsen
FOUNDER
Karinne is passionate about promoting natural fibers and creating healthy textiles, along with encouraging others to develop their interests. her main fiber interests are weaving, knitting and getting better at spinning.
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Lydia Lawhon
VICE CHAIR
Lydia is a long-time knitter, newbie weaver, and former Angora goat wrangler with a closet full of yarn and a background in non-profit management and academia.
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Melissa Lunsford
SECRETARY
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Chris Hartman
TREASURER
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Sarah Endres
BOARD MEMBER
Sarah Endres is a technical editor for knitwear designers and has been knitting for nearly ten years. She has a background in non-profit management and small business operations, and has to stop and take a photo of every sheep she meets.
History
In 2015, a group of fiber folks met in Bayfield, CO, to discuss the need for a local wool processing mill. This group consisted of ranchers with fiber animals (primarily sheep, but also alpaca and llama) as well as people who use yarn and other wool products, who shared concern over the problem of processing raw wool, as there are no mills close by and shipping to mills further afield is expensive. Turn around times at mills across the country often took from six months up to a year.
This group became the Los Pinos Fiber Alliance, which achieved its non-profit status in 2016. The Alliance mapped the ranches in the region, identifying the types and number of all the fiber animals to illustrate the need for local processing and production facilities. While they raised interest in building a mill, progress was slow and the group eventually dissolved.
In 2020, two of our current Board members connected over their shared interest in regional fiber economies and resurrected the idea of building a local wool mill. They reinstated the nonprofit and changed the name to The Southwest Fiber Alliance to recognize the need to connect with small and large-scall producers and fiber enthusiasts throughout the region. Over the past two years, SWFA has expanded its Board of Directors, staffed an educational table at the Durango and Bayfield Farmers Markets, and hosted monthly fiber fun gatherings open to the public.