Karakoyun Wool Fleece

Karakoyun wool is the dark, coarse, long-stapled fleece of the fat-rumped sheep kept by herders in the Talas Alatau. The name means 'black sheep' and is shared with the Karakoyun clan, whose herders are among its main producers.^[1] The wool's long outer fibers shed water. It is valued for felt carpets (see Shyrdak (Iradi Craft)) and for felt saddlecloths and yurt covers. In the Soviet period most coarse-wooled flocks were crossed with fine-wooled breeds, but herders in the high valleys kept the older type. Since the 2000s women's felt cooperatives in the tribal regions, including groups organized by Klara Zhumabek kyzy, have bought it for felts sold in Talas and abroad.^[2]

References

1. ^ Zhumabaeva, Cholpon (2016). Horses and Herders: The Pastoral Economy of the Talas Alatau, 1930–2010. Talas: Talas State University Press.
2. ^ Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Irad (2022). Crafts and Textiles: Export Bulletin. Talas.