A headband made with 100% Welsh wool has raised thousands of much-needed funds for a rural-based mental health charity.
NFU Cymru launched the ‘She Who Dares… Farms’ product in October to support the wool industry during the pandemic while raising money for the DPJ Foundation.
Now the union has presented the charity with a donation of £1,000 raised from sales of the popular merchandise.
The idea for the headbands was the brainchild of fashion designer Clare Johns, who uses wool from the rare breed Ryeland sheep she farms to make the product.
Clare, from Pembrokeshire, has also raised £1,000 for the DPJ Foundation from the sales of the headbands, made using 100% Welsh wool.
The two donations, that were presented during Mental Health Awareness Week, brings the total donation from sales of merchandise to £6,000.
The funds will provide much-needed support for the charity following a very challenging year for farmers across Wales.
NFU Cymru county adviser for Brecon, Radnor and Monmouthshire Stella Owen said: “I am delighted to be presenting another cheque to this worthwhile charity.
“Farming, in its very nature, can be an isolated profession and with Covid-19 putting a halt to those few face-to-face events, such as livestock marts, shows and farming meetings, many farmers have found this to be a very difficult time.
"The DPJ Foundation have been there - and will continue to be there - for our rural community and therefore I thank those who have brought our merchandise and made a difference.”
The whole process behind the creation of the headbands happens in the UK using Welsh wool – ‘from farm to hangar’.
“Wool from sheep that are bred, reared and sheared on our farm,” Clare Johns explained.
“If any extra wool is needed it is sourced from local farmers and makers at a fair price.”
The wool is then sent to a mill in west Wales where it is washed, spun and then weaved using traditional methods into a quality tweed cloth.
“After a clean and press at the finishers, the cloth comes back to me to transform in to beautiful, luxurious, and often bespoke, timeless classics, like these headbands,” she said.
Orders can still be made by using the online form on the NFU Cymru website.
