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Diné Bi Iiná - Sheep Is Life



Dibé Nit'saa Spin Off Value-Added Product Development

4 Dibe' Nitsaa Spin Off Groups

Dibé Nit'saa Spin Off Value-Added Product Development

Spin Offs are informal groups of sheep herders and fiber enthusiasts who meet monthly to share knowledge about sheep herding, fiber arts, and the latest news. Hands-on learning of new techniques and reinforcing traditional methods are the focus of each community Spin Off.

Everyone is invited to attend, learn, and share. Regular meetings are held at members' homes and ranches.  For current meeting schedules, contact TahNibaa Naataanii at 505.406.7428.

Besides spinning and weaving, participants experiment with different techniques to create products from wearable art to ornaments to felted saddle pads. The groups have found innovative ways for creating artistic, durable products using large quantities of low-quality wool which would otherwise be worth about five cents per pound. Risk Management training and technical assistance for the Spin Off participants will help them derive a better income from their work with wool.

The Dibé Nit'saa Spin Off focus on innovation will :

  • Develop prototypes of marketable products that can become the foundation for value-added businesses and marketing participate in peer-to-peer mentoring and knowledge sharing with family and community members
  • Utilize the RMA partnership to assess prototypes for technical needs, manufacturing time, resource requirements, and production costs

Ganado WARP communities

Meets the 2nd Sunday of each month.
Contact: Ilene Naegle.

T'iis Nazbas communities

Meets the 3rd Sunday of the month on the odd-numbered months.
Contact: Roy Kady, Teec Nos Pos Chapter

Tsailé and Lukachukai communities

New group is forming.  Contact Lucita Luckton. 

Table Mesa communities

Meets the last Sunday of each month.
Contact: TahNibaa Naataanii
 

2010 Sheep Is Life Celebration

Sheep is Life Celebration
Sheep-is-life-banner

14th Annual Sheep is Life Celebration, June 14-19, 2010.

Land Grant Program Facilities and Rodeo Grounds, Diné College, Tsailé, AZ, Navajo Nation.

Diné be’ iiná (The Navajo Lifeway) presents the 14th Annual Sheep is Life Celebration from June 14–19, 2010 at the Diné College Land Grant Program Facility in Tsailé, AZ, in the Navajo Nation.  The Celebration is organized by Navajo sheep herders and weavers to honor the central role of sheep and fiber arts in the spirituality, philosophy, and daily life of cultures throughout the world.  Everyone is invited to participate, bring tools, spindles, fibers, and creativity to share.

Sheep is Life activities include:

Workshops. Navajo Fiber Arts and Lifeways. Monday-Friday. One- to five-day classes.  Workshop and materials fees apply.  Classes and registration information will be posted on the web site by April.

Sheep to Loom. Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.  Free hands-on activities and presentations for the whole family.

Sheep and Wool Shows.

Vendor and Food Booths.

Sales of sheep, wool, fiber, materials, and art.  Navajo-Churro sheep exchange.

Herd health, flock management, and shepherd training workshops.

Premiere of international traveling exhibit on Navajo Sheep Culture.

 

Contemporary Fiber Arts Sale. Friday, 3:00 – 8:00 p.m..

Creative value-added products made from wool and other animal fibers.  Open to all fiber artists.

 

Juried Navajo Rug Show and Sale. Saturday, 3:00 – 8:00 p.m.  Artists will be present.

Weavings by Navajo artists from 100% sheep wool. Featuring rugs made with hand-spun, natural-dyed Navajo-Churro yarn.

Logistics:

The Celebration takes place at the new Land Grant Program facilities, adjacent to the Rodeo Grounds on the Diné College Tsailé campus, located in the Navajo Nation on the northeast rim of Canyon de Chelly.  Tsailé is at the junction of Navajo Highways 64 and 12, approximately 30 miles northeast of Chinlé, the nearest town with hotels.

Camping and RV parking is available on-site, adjacent to sheep pens and the show arena, which have a water hydrant and electric lighting.

Hotel and motels are available in Canyon de Chelly, Chinle, and Window Rock.

For more information:

Diné be’ iiná, Inc., PO Box 683, Window Rock, AZ 86515

TahNibaa Naataanii, Project Director, 505.406.7428

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Sheep is Life is co-sponsored by the Diné College Land Grant Program and funded in partnership with the USDA Risk Management Agency.  DBI is a nonprofit, federally tax-exempt 501c3 corporation.

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Travel Information for Sheep is Life

Location: For some mysterious reason, Tsaile is not included on certain maps.  It is at the junction of Highways 64 and 12, on the northeast rim of Canyon de Chelly.

Time: The State of Arizona is on Mountain Standard Time.  The Navajo Nation is on Mountain Daylight Time.  All the times for Sheep is Life events are on MDT.

Weather: Diné College is located at 7,000 feet elevation at the foot of the Chuska Mountains.  Sunscreen, a hat, and something to cover arms and legs are recommended during the day for protection from the sun and intense UV radiation (because of the altitude); bring jackets and sweaters for the cool nights.

Lodging: Primitive tenting and camping are possible at the Diné College Rodeo Grounds, where the sheep pens are, next to the Land Grant Program Building; there are outdoor toilets and a water spigot.  Tenting and camping are available at Tsailé Lake, adjacent to the campus. There are NO facilities or potable water.  Wheatfields Lake, five miles south on Highway 12, has camping sites, toilets, and water.  Hotels in Chinlé, a 25-minute drive west, include the Holiday Inn, Best Western, and Thunderbird Lodge.  The Diné Quality Inn is in Window Rock, about an hour south of Tsailé.  Navajoland Inn is in St. Michael’s on Highway 264, just west of Window Rock. There is a Denny’s Restaurant on the property.  Be sure to call well in advance.  Hotels are usually full in the summer.

 

Driving: There are a number of routes, so best to look at a map and select the one to suit your needs.

From Phoenix

• Either 1) take Interstate 17 to Flagstaff and go east on I-40;

or 2) take Highway 87 through Payson to Winslow.

• At Winslow, either

1) go on I-40 east to Chambers and turn north on Highway 191, at Ganado, 191 and 264 join briefly, turn west for a couple of miles on 191/264 until you come to the junction where you turn north to Chinlé and continue on 191;

or 2) turn north on Highway 87, go through Hopi, and intersect 264 at Second Mesa, take 264 to the intersection with 191 and turn north to Chinlé.

• At the first major intersection, turn east onto Navajo Highway 7 and go through Chinlé towards Canyon de Chelly National Monument.  At the monument enrance, take the left fork onto Highway 64, go across the bridge over the wash, and you are about 24 miles from Tsailé.

• Continue on Highway 64 and there will be signs for the Rainbow Inn and for Diné College. From Highway 64, turn south into the Diné College campus, go past the housing, and look for the Land Grant Program Building on the west side of the road, follow the signs.

• To get to the Hatahli Cultural Center, continue south and cross the cattle guard, go left around the circle to park in front of the Cultural Center (the seven-story hogan structure with windows like abalone).

 

From Albuquerque, via I-40 and Gallup

Take I-40 west to Gallup; turn north onto 666 and about 7 miles later, turn west onto 264 going to Window Rock.  At Window Rock, take Navajo Highway 12 north.  After a mile or so, begin looking for road signs indicating the turn-off to Navajo.  It is a “T” intersection with a traffic light and a gas station on the northeast corner.  There is no sign indicating that one should turn here to be on Highway 12, but shortly after you make the turn, there is a sign indicating that you are on 12. (If you miss this turn, then you end up in Fort Defiance and have to ask for the little cut-off road to get back on Highway 12.)  Take Highway 12 through Wheatfields (a store, lake, and campground are there), and continue on to the intersection with Highway 64.  (DO NOT turn off Highway 12 onto the road indicated by the sign that says Rainbow Inn and Diné College, unless you like going through lots of potholes.) At the intersection, turn west onto Highway 64 and shortly after that is the entrance to Diné College.  From Highway 64, turn south into the Diné College campus, go past the housing, and look for the Land Grant Program building on the west side of the road.

 

From Farmington

Take Highway 64 west to Shiprock, then turn south on Highway 666.  About eight miles past Newcomb, begin looking for the turn off to Highway 134.  At Sheep Springs, turn west onto Highway 134, going towards Crystal.  Highway 134 intersects Highway 12.  Turn north onto Highway 12 and go through Wheatfields (a store, lake, and campground are there), and continue on to the intersection with Highway 64.  (DO NOT turn off Highway 12 onto the road indicated by the sign that says Rainbow Inn and Diné College, unless you like going through lots of potholes.) At the intersection, turn west onto Highway 64 and shortly after that is the entrance to Diné College.  From Highway 64, turn south into the Diné College campus, go past the housing, and look for the Land Grant Program building on the west side of the road.

 

From Utah

From I-70, turn south on Highway 191 to Moab, Monticello and Blanding.  At Bluff, 191 joins 163.  Turn west for a couple of miles, then 191 goes south again to intersect and join 160 in Arizona.  Turn west onto 160 for about a mile or two, then turn south again continuing on 191 to Round Rock, where you take Highway 12 south through Lukachukai and on to Tsaile and the intersection with Highway 64.  At the intersection, turn west onto Highway 64 and shortly after that is the entrance to Diné College.  From Highway 64, turn south into the Diné College campus, go past the housing, and look for the Land Grant Program building on the west side of the road. 

 

Wool Pool for Small Flock Owners

Wool Pool for Small Flock Owners

DBI is partnering with other organizations to form a wool pool with at least three families in four chapters, each with approximately 20 head of sheep. DBI will provide shearing equipment, supplies, and wool grading expertise. Shearing and skirting will take place at the family ranch, with one open shearing weekend offered at Diné College Rodeo Arena. Technical assistance with wool grading and wool pool development will assist the producers. Risk Management activities include:

  • Before shearing, assemble the interns, check out the equipment, and schedule shearing times
  • On arrival at the ranch, inspect the sheep with the producers and train them in herd health measures, provide them record sheets and ear tags if they do not already have them
  • Demonstrate appropriate methods for shearing sheep to minimize animal discomfort, second cuts, and contamination of the fleeces with vegetal matter, dirt, and poly fibers
  • Involve the family members with proper skirting, sorting, and bagging in fabric bags
  • Point out the factors that diminish the value of the fleece, such as poly twine contamination and hay in the wool, and recommend methods for minimizing them
  • Weigh skirted fleece and record which animal it came from, noting the quality of the wool
  • Bag and label each fleece, explain the wool pool consignment process, and obtain signed forms
  • At the end of the shearing, hold a wool grading training at Diné College, providing a written record of the results back to each producer
  • Utilize the Navajo-Churro wool for creating value-added products, including yarn for Navajo weavers
  • Distribute the payments and wool grading results to the producers, with illustrated instructions for improving their wool clip
 

Rug Auction and Fiber Arts Committee

Rug Auction Committee

In 2004, six Navajo weavers approached DBI for assistance in organizing their own rug auction so that they could exercise control over management and income from this endeavor, while training the weavers how use their own or locally-produced wool to earn more income from their work. Since that time, the group has successfully conducted rug auctions each year during the Sheep is Life Celebration. Criteria accept only fiber arts made with 100 per cent wool, with a premium placed on using handspun, Navajo-raised wool in natural colors or vegetal dyes. Southwest Marketing Network has provided technical assistance on forming a cooperative business. Risk Management activities include:

  • assist the Committee with formalizing a culturally-relevant organizational structure, with information on options for forming a separate corporation, cooperative, collective, or business
  • providing training in budgeting, bookkeeping, and financial management for the group and for the individual weavers
  • developing a business plan in a way that meets their needs for Risk Management information they can apply
  • providing support and training for organizing consignment inventory and marketing strategy for at least one regional or national sales show during this project period
  • assisting the Committee with workshops for weavers to help them understand demands and strategies for value-added product marketing to a national audience
 

Teec Nos Pos Regional Wool Processing Facility

Teec Nos Pos Regional Wool Processing Facility

Although surveys have found that an average of 58 percent of families are involved in livestock and fiber production, only a small percentage are able to use their own wool. Recent interviews with wool producers and fiber artists identified these significant barriers to using locally grown wool:

  1. access to water,
  2. an affordable heat source for heating water,
  3. faster methods for picking and carding, and
  4. water, heat, and containers for dyeing. Risk Management assessments and planning can the producers with identifying reliable, technically-appropriate methods that are compatible with their needs and resources. A 2005 feasibility study on a minimill found that capital costs, natural resource requirements, and technical needs would be far beyond the present needs of the community.

Teec Nos Pos has proposed a locally-managed wool processing set-up to meet the needs of Navajo producers with hand-operated cost-effective and resource-efficient methods that streamline traditional home processing. Roof collection of water and solar hot water heating; hand-turned drums for opening and cleaning; lanolin sludge recovery and water recycling; a pulley system for lifting wet, heavy wool from wash tubs into the dye bath; solar drying racks; and hand-operated carders producing batts and roving. Hand-spinners can use either the traditional lap spindle or a spinning wheel to produce the yarn for weavers. The facility will be powered with a solar/wind electrical generating system.

Teec Nos Pos Chapter President, Roy Kady, who raises Navajo-Churro sheep, goats, and llamas, has requested Risk management training and technical assistance with technology, business and financial structures, management planning, pricing, and marketing to the wool producers and weavers. DBI is partnering with SWMN to provide these services to Teec Nos Pos, which will provide the facility, utilities, and workers. RMA project activities include:

  • outreach to producers and weavers to identify opportunities for using their own wool
  • research technical systems for power from clean and renewable resources
  • design the wool processing path and assess time and resources needed in each step
  • develop and test prototypes that can be locally produced, such as the pulley system
  • establish a business plan with organizational, financial, and management structures
  • set up prototype facility and train local people for these jobs
  • document each step with costs to create transparent pricing, offering a do-it-yourself option
  • document all aspects of the operation for several months, analyze, revise, and implement
  • develop a business and marketing plan for expansion into a sales outlet featuring a value added product line using Navajo grown and processed wool
  •  assist producers and fiber artists with creating their small businesses providing product and services to the wool processing and sales facility