Irish cottage industry booming again

In Northern Ireland, where thousands of people once made a living from cottage industries, home-based crafts are becoming popular again. Many weavers established a thriving network of workshops at home and in country cottages.
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​ ​ ​ 1773 was the heyday of the local linen industry, with 17 million yards of linen exported from Belfast to the world every year. Most linen is produced in cottage industries. At that time, many families relied on weaving to subsidize agriculture.
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The alley leading to the back is long and winding, with bumpy roads. The yarn produced from mohair is used to produce women’s sweaters, socks, and scarves. Behind the exquisite walls and flower-decorated windows, each cottage forms a prosperous industry.
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The house is home to textile workshops, where soft and lustrous Angora wool is spun into mohair and yarn, which are then used to produce clothing. The sheep are grazed in the fields behind the cottage.
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These sheep are sheared twice a year. The mohair is carded wool, which is spun into yarn and used to produce women’s sweaters, socks and scarves. Bill enjoyed working at home, tending the textile workshop while tending his sheep. It’s a way of life that not only attracts more and more people, but also helps stimulate the rural economy.
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Cottage businesses, usually one or two operators, have sprung up in rural areas of Northern Ireland and represent a growing regional economy.
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There are approximately 700 rural handicraft workshops in the local area that have received help from the “Leaders + Arrangements” program, with a program budget of 21 million pounds. This funding is jointly provided by the European Union and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.