New Woollen Mill on Kangaroo Island creates opportunities for local community

New ability to do all steps in wool production - from paddock through to finished garment - reduces wool sent overseas for processing and increases income for producers

Photo: Kangaroo Island Wool (Facebook)

Love this good news story from the ABC about a regional start-up business that was born out of disaster.

Regional economic strategies promote the need for increased value-adding in local agriculture and industries to capture a larger portion of the supply chain, diversify local economies, create jobs and increase income for producers. This is just one example of it in practice.

In the Australian summer of 2019/20 thousands of Kangaroo Island's sheep were destroyed by the bushfires, devasting the local merino wool industry among other sectors of agriculture.

Out of this tragedy a group of local wool producers at Kangaroo Island Wool were able to fund the launch of a local woollen mill with the support of federal and state economic recovery grants.

Fast forward 5 years and while most of the island's wool is still sent overseas for processing, a portion is diverted to the mill, giving the island community the ability to do all of the steps involved in taking wool from the paddock right through to the finished garment.

With processing costs the main reason most of Australia's wool is sent overseas for cleaning, spinning and manufacturing, this community has the potential to keep the entire supply chain on the island and all of the financial benefits from the chain staying in local hands.

That's a good news story.