Culverden sheep and beef farmers Jane and Mark Schwass were in the same boat as sheep farmers nation-wide, desperate for a way to increase their returns on wool when the price per kilogram was so low.
"It was costing us $5.50 per ewe to get them shorn and we could only get $1.50 per kilo back on the fleece," Mr Schwass said.
"We were practically giving it away and then one day my daughter mentioned there were people out there selling merino yoga mats for $300 each.
"She felt we could do it better and sell it for a lot less."
That started the ball rolling in the Schwass household, and a plan was quickly mooted.
What if they created a cottage industry that was environmentally sound and used the wool, grown and shorn on their property.
The plan then had them finding someone to scour the wool and turn it into high-quality felt, dye it, cut it into yoga pad lengths and then return it to the farm for finishing and online marketing.
A complete production circle that started and ended on the farm.
The idea and creation were the easy part.
"Finding businesses who could scour the quantity of wool we needed, press it into felt, and then dye it and cut it to lengths was the hard part," Mrs Schwass said.
Luckily, after a few months of scouring the internet and a bit of luck, the couple were put in contact with a Timaru-based wool scouring operation which could handle the volumes of wool they wanted made into felt.
Another of their sons arranged a meeting with a wool pelting company in Christchurch to handle the dyeing.
"Their company was great," Mrs Schwass said.
"They could easily handle the dying using natural products and length cutting requirements.
"The greenish colour is perfect for the mats."
Once produced, the 100% natural wool felt yoga mats, measuring 12mm thick, are returned to the Pahau Downs farm where in-between daily farming chores the couple apply a non slip natural latex backing and Mrs Schwass hand sews the corners.
While someone else looks after all the web hosting and social media requirements for the Kaiora Downs brand, the couple look after the servicing and dispatching of orders via the couriers.
The couple said it took the fleeces from 250 ewes to produce a 300kg bale of clean wool.
Mrs Schwass said the wool felt mats were great and comfortable.
"Surprisingly, because we are using cross-breeds with 34 micron thick wool, they are all coming back so soft and warm.
"Once you have finished with them as yoga mats, they can repurposed as situpons, pet bedding or finally be used as weed matting in the garden."
The couple said their products were totally recyclable and environmentally friendly.
Just what they wanted for their sheep-wool project.
