Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Museum: University of St Andrews Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 4 Intangible Context Spinning wool, weaving, kiltmaking, tailoring. Field Worker Netty Sopata Economic Threats Insufficient renumeration Weakened Practice Aged practitioners,Diminishing participation,Diminishing youth interest,Halted transmission between generations,Reduced practice Loss Threats Loss of knowledge SDG Good Health and Wellbeing,Responsible Consumption and Production,Life On Land External ID AAS_CP_06 Knowledge To shear a sheep requires practise and stamina. The way in which the sheep is handled determines whetehr they will stay still so a sequence of movments are followed to guide the animal into certain posiitons as the shearer cuts away the fleece in certain directions. When carried out correctly a whole fleece is removed from a sheep in one piece with a calm and un-stressed animal. Knowledge Transfer In Ness some commuinal shearing still takes place using hand shears but this is decreasing, as such so too are the opportunities for the younger generations to learn those skills. It is also similar for machine shearing, but because you can earn money from machien shearing it is more attractive for younger people to learn. Practitioners There are two well known shears that operate commericially across the Isle of Lewis and Harris. Therew ill be more across the rest of Scotland, but due to geographical boundaries they do not travel over to the islands to work. Function Shearing as a village community at the village fank does still occur sometimes, normally if all of the livestock are gathered from the common grazing on a day that the machine shearer has been booked. This becomes a social occasion, gaelic is spoken in these scenarios and stories or 'yarns' are told. Origins and change Sheep need to be shaered once a year for their welfare - this has not altered since humans began to rear and keep them. Organisations The Wool Board: https://www.britishwool.org.uk The Crofters Commission: https://www.crofting.scotland.gov.uk Places Each village in the area of Ness has a 'Fank.' A dedicated, outdoor handling facility to pen sheep in and handle them for shearing, dosing and dipping. Artefacts Woven Tweed Fabric. Climate Threats Description As the climate changes and becomes warmer the time at which the wool rises i.e the old fleeces is ready to cut away has altered. Over the peast couple of years some Crofters have sheared as early as May Economic Threats Description The price the woolboard pays the crofter fro each fleece is less than the crofter has to pay for the sheep to be sheared. Weakened Practice Description In Ness some commuinal shearing still takes place using hand shears but this is decreasing, as such so too are the opportunities for the younger generations to learn those skills. It is also similar for machine shearing, but because you can earn money from machien shearing it is more attractive for younger people to learn. State of the practice declining Social sustainability It contributes to social cohesions when the viallge athers livestock at the fank in preparation for the shearing to commence. Environmental sustainability Wool is a sustainable resource. Economic sustainability It supports the self-sufficient lifestyle of crofting and has to take place foe the welfare of the animal. Place The town or city Habost, Port of Ness Place Description Habost is a vilage that sits within Galson Estate which consists of 56,000 acres of coast, agricultural land and moor in the North West of the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The estate comprises of 22 villages running from Upper Barvas to Port of Ness with a population of nearly 2,000 people. The estate passed into community ownership on 12 January 2007, to be managed on their behalf by Urras Oighreachd Ghabhsainn (https://www.galsontrust.com) The area is rural, with a strong cultural heritage centered around the gaelic language, traditional music and crofting. Prim Media 2078 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Sheep Shearing Type The nature or genre of the resource Intangible Description An account of the resource Sheep Shearing is a process used by crofters in the hebrides to remove the old wool or 'fleeces' from their sheep when the new groeth starts to 'rise' in the late summer. The traditional method of shearing is to use hand-held shears – this is till practised by some crofters in Ness, but there is also travelling shearer who can be paid per sheep to shear using elctric clippers. Tradiotnally the shearing process would have been conducted at the village 'fanks' – commnical handling areas for livestock that sit on the common grazing land. As the sheep are sheared a team of usually woemn, would clean off, roll up and bag the fleeces ready for the wool board to collect. Alternatively, the wool can be kept and processed at micro mills on behalf of the crofter but this is very rare and an expensive process to complete. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource 2076 Language A language of the resource English,Scottish Gaelic Extent The size or duration of the resource. x x Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource iain Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 803 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived highlandandislands Date Submitted Date of submission of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Submitted may be relevant are a thesis (submitted to a university department) or an article (submitted to a journal). 05/01/2026 Alternative Title An alternative name for the resource. The distinction between titles and alternative titles is application-specific. Clipping Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. current,58,-6; Date Modified Date on which the resource was changed. 05/01/2026 Europeana Specific elements of the Europeana Semantic Elements. Europeana Type The Europeana material type of the resource. TEXT Europeana Data Provider The name or identifier of the organisation that contributes data to Europeana. University of St Andrews