In Ardèche, Ardelaine is recreating a local textile industry around wool

Piled up on a fabric, the pieces of fleece form a small mountain of wool that Gaëlle delicately feels. “It is by touch that we feel if we have reached the right thickness and the desired firmness,” explains the professional before adding a handful of these white flakes.

Around her, in the workshop, a multitude of other skills are deployed: the cutting of a canvas called ticking, the tightening which prevents the fiber from moving, or even the installation of a braid. The objective? Transforming sheep fur into a quilt, the flagship product of the Ardelaine cooperative.

Nestled for almost half a century in Saint-Pierreville, in the heart of the Monts d’Ardèche Regional Natural Park, this company like no other has set itself an ambitious challenge: to patiently recreate a sector that has almost disappeared by collecting the region’s resource before processing it, promoting it and marketing it in the form of bedding and fashion items.

A spinning mill in ruins

It all began in the mid-1970s when a group of friends, determined to save endangered local heritage, came across a woolen mill in ruins in this village of 500 souls. Fascinated, the small troupe led by Gérard and Béatrice Barras bought the building and settled on the site, pooling a part of everyone’s salary to finance the renovation. While globalization and offshoring accelerate the decline of the textile sector in France, they choose not to stop there: the profession, too, must be saved.

“For around ten years, they recovered machines that were going to be scrapped and learned from the latest professionals,” says Willy, in particular in charge of communication. In 1982, Ardelaine was created in the form of a cooperative and participatory company to preserve the initial collective spirit.

Today, Ardelaine’s sixty employees process 70 tonnes of wool per year. Paid at the minimum wage, the candidates – not always easy to find – are often trained on site for months by the oldest like Olivier, the son of cattle breeders who arrived twenty-five years ago. “We are not here to produce efficiently at all costs, but to create artisanal and healthy work,” he confides, rejoicing to reinvent outlets for this raw material, too often wasted, and to work for the development of this rural region.

Responsible breeding

Because, with the exception of certain stages such as washing or spinning – taking place as far away as Italian Piedmont -, all the processing takes place on the territory, from shearing at the 167 partner breeders, to final manufacturing, in Saint-Pierreville for the bedding, and in Valence (Drôme) and La Bénisson-Dieu (Loire) for ready-to-wear. “Between 300 and 400 km on the clock for a mattress and 1,700 for a piece of clothing, compared to tens of thousands on average,” proudly recalls Élise, collections coordinator.

The 380 items offered – from duvets to socks and dresses – are then sold in the only Ardèche store, online or at fairs, markets and shows. The brand is not accessible to all budgets: a mattress, for example, is sold between 600 and 1200 euros. But Ardelaine focuses on ethics, ensuring that the selected breeders practice extensive and responsible breeding. “Our customers do not just acquire a product, they participate in a social and environmental project,” summarizes Pierre, who deals with tourism development.

Public awareness therefore quickly became a priority: forty-four years after its rebirth, the historic factory of Saint-Pierreville was surrounded by a real little hamlet where, each year, 8,000 visitors come to spend the day between guided tours recounting the history of wool, educational workshops, a local restaurant and a bookstore café… “They can then become our best customers!” recognizes Pierre. Tourists from all over France, but also Ardéchois, often the first promoters of a project that has become for many an emblem of the territory.