Mesa Lamb & Wool formed out of a knitter’s desire to explore the production of yarn.
“I realized I had more store-bought yarn than I could ever knit in my entire life, and I wanted to get closer to the process of my craft of knitting,” Kristen Mischker said. “It’s brought us, as a family of five, closer to the food we eat, right off of our land, and then to the fiber that I actually spin and work with my own hands and knit. It’s a good feeling to be as close to our own supply chain as possible – to close the loop like that.”
When it comes to meat, her family sells lamb and mutton as whole shares and by the pound, as well as organ meats, roasts and chops.
“We sell to customers individually, and we’ve also sold to local high-end restaurants,” she said.
Mesa Lamb & Wool shears its own sheep and processes the wool. Mischker demonstrates how to hand-spin it at the Durango Farmers Market, but some of it is also sent to a mill. Whole fleeces retail for $50.
“We also have tanned hides that are washable and pleasant-smelling sheepskins for your home,” she said.
The sheep – Navajo churros that come in a variety of colors – are raised six miles South of Durango on the Florida Mesa. Mischker said she believes they are the closest grass-fed lambs in proximity to Durango.
“Our animals are on pasture year-round,” she said. “They’re often born in the field. The mothers take care of them. They graze their whole lives … they’re entirely grass-fed on forage, and they live a pretty good life out there.”
In addition to the farmers market, Mesa Lamb & Wool sells its products on its website, mesawool.com, and can also be reached through its Instagram account.
“I can sell direct to customers as the winter comes – when they’re looking for meat to put on their table,” she said.
ngonzales@durangoherald.com
