EPISODE 3 & 4 - Sorting the wool
How does the process of wool sorting (grading) looks like in the wool station?
We get wool from the farmers in bags. Each fleece is packed separately with the system „one fleece/ one paper“, so every fleece in Norway is classified for itself. The farmers write their names and numbers on the bags. We get these bags into the wool station and take them to the grading table. We use the numbers to identify the farmers and then the graders grade each fleece from each farmer.
Which area in Norway do you collect the wool from?
From the farmers we pick up wool all the way from Oestfjell up to Trondelag to Trondheim. So it's a very big area we collect wool from. Thus, we see the wool from the livestock of a very big area in Norway.
Are there more grading stations in Norway?
Yes, there are several grading stations, but the grading station at Gol is the largest in Norway. We have more graders than the others and we grade the whole year which makes our graders really good. It's all about the training. We get wool from a very big area and we have all different kinds of Norwegian wool so that makes our graders really good.
How many graders do exist in Norway?
Graders in Norway I think it will be around 60-70 people. So we are really special.
How do you become a wool grader?
There is no school to go to. So they have to stand next to an experienced one and she/he will show them and supervise them and look, whether they are doing it right and if yes, it is all about training, training, training. The graders have to work at least two years before they are going up to a certificate.