WOOL classer extraordinaire and one of the sheep industry’s biggest advocates is stepping out from behind the wool table and hitting the road to push a message very close to her heart.
When she’s not working in a shearing shed, Chantel McAlister would be behind the camera photographing all things sheep and wool.
The born and bred city girl kick started her career as a wool classer over a decade ago and has since fallen in love with the fibre that clothes the world.
So much so, she has used her talent to run to the sheep and wool industry’s defence when it was under scrutiny by animal activists later last year.
With activists using social media campaigns to describe things like mulesing and shearing cruel; Miss McCalister said she wanted to show people what the industry was really like.
She then started making videos which she shared on her professional photography page explaining and revealing the true going ons of a shearing shed
The videos, which Miss McAlister titled “The truth about wool”, were very well received online, racking up thousands of views and comments in support of the industry .
Miss McAlister said she was shocked by how many people contacted her saying how they had no idea how things like shearing or crutching worked before watching her videos.
With that in mind and work still to be done to boost the sheep and wool industry’s reputation,Miss McAlister has decided to take her campaign on the road.
The Truth About Wool National Tour kicks off in February and will be running until the the end of June.
This means, Miss McAlister is planning to give up her steady income and her own bed for four months to travel to shearing sheds near and far and document the happenings entirely.
“‘I’m going to cover every role in the wool process from farming to the wool shed,’ she said.
“I want to show how much work goes into growing wool- from farmers looking after the sheep to getting the wool off them.”
Passion is what’s driving Miss McAlister’s campaign, who said she just wanted people to have more access and knowledge on an industry that most people are using daily.
You can stay in touch with Miss McAlister the whole time, who will be blogging her experiences as well as keeping you up to date with an interactive map
All in all, Miss McAlister said she hoped her venture would show people the real truth about wool- as well as advertise the wool industry in order to help the farmers working in it.
Miss McAlister has set up a Go Fund me page to help her with expenses whilst being on the road.
To donate, click here
