Investigation on the Physical Characteristics of Raw Wool Fibers in Ethiopia

Ethiopia’s economy is primarily based on agriculture (46% of Gross Domestic Product). The Ethiopian textile and apparel industry have grown an average of 51% over the last five years. Ethiopia’s sheep population, estimated to be 25.5 million heads, is found to be widely distributed across the diverse agro-ecological zones of the country. Wool, common name applied to the soft, curly fibers obtained chiefly from the fleece of domesticated sheep and used extensively in textile manufacturing. The fleece of sheep raised for wool is generally shorn once yearly, in the spring or early summer. In regions where the climate is warm throughout the year, shearing may occur twice annually. The value of wool on the market depends primarily on fineness and length of fiber. Strength, elasticity, amount of crimp, and uniformity are also considered. The present study was carried out to investigate the physical properties of raw wool fibers. A total of 24 sheep were used in this study. Samples of fiber were analyzed using standard measurements for wool fiber crimp, tenacity, moisture and amount of trash in the raw wool and comparing the weight of the raw wool to the cleaned wool fiber. Samples are drowning from four different parts of the country and the breeds are menz, tikur, farta and washera. The fineness of wool was coarser based on the microns grading system.