the start-up born from scientific research

ABOUT US

AgriVello is a start-up founded in 2021 in Pagnacco (Udine, Italy) to bring an innovative and green product to the market: the fertilising pellet made of 100% sheep wool.

AgriVello’s vision is to concretely promote, without slogans and false promises, a circular economy that protects the environment at 360°, guaranteeing social, economic, environmental and territorial sustainability.

The starting point is to provide a smart and sustainable solution to support the entire wool supply chain: from shearing to transformation process.

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Circular Economy
Confezioni Agrivello 1 e 2 kg

from scientific research to the market, with the aim of promoting a circular economy.

Thanks to the important research-work carried out in collaboration with the Department of Agri-Food, Environmental and Animal Sciences of the University of Udine (supported by the Friuli Foundation, the Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria del Friuli Centrale and the Consorzio delle Valli e delle Dolomiti Friulane), a solution has been found.

A product which can provide a concrete answer to the difficulties that arise along the entire wool supply chain, drastically reducing the economic impact on sheep farms and the environment:

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1.

Small and medium-sized livestock farmers can rethink the practice of shearing, without the worry of having to handle with a special waste product, the wool. In fact, up to day most of the wool produced in this specific area cannot be employed in any industrial, textile or construction sector.

2.

The process of converting wool into fertiliser pellets is a zero-impact process and contributes to significant water and energy savings.

3.

The fertiliser produced is used both in agriculture and in home gardening (vegetable gardens and pot plants), contributing naturally to plants growth.

4.

The chemical-physical properties of sheep’s wool pellets ensure that the soil is enriched through its natural fertilising function, thus avoiding the use of synthetic fertilisers.

naturE
HELPING naturE!

Developing a product based on the circular economy principles has enabled the start-up to rationalise and optimise raw materials with a particular concern on mutual benefit.

A winning bet to save the wool industry

It all started from an intuition of Chiara Spigarelli, an agronomist-zootechnician and researcher from Umbria with a PhD in Agricultural Science and Biotechnology at the University of Udine. In 2018 she found herself dealing with a very sensitive and edgy issue: wool disposal.

Of course, it is a cross-cutting issue: farmers need to shear their sheep at least once a year to ensure their welfare and, at the same time, to comply with regulations protecting it. However, given the lack of interest from the industry, wool becomes a special waste, expensive and difficult to dispose of.

This was the starting point for Chiara’s challenge, who presented herself at the RestartAlp innovation campus with her “Vello d’Oro” (‘Golden Fleece’) project, which was inspired by the principles of sustainability and circular economy: an innovative idea for the use of sheep’s wool in sectors other than textiles.

The project won over the jury and “Vello d’Oro” qualified as one of the top three innovative ideas at RestartAlp 2018, winning second prize.

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A path to growth with the support of organisations and institutions

The upcycling of such a noble material as sheep wool has faced many difficulties: despite

  • the promotion of a local and circular economy,
  • the Zero-waste approach,
  • the contribution to reducing the use of synthetic fertilisers (according to the “Farm to Fork” strategy)
  • the service offered to farmers
  • the promotion of inclusive activities combined with the promotion of the territory and its traditions

 

This step resulted as a game changer capable of activate a synergy that created the basis for the independent development of the start-up AgriVello.

A winning idea awarded at RestartAlp 2018

It was held on Friday 8 March 2019 in Milan, as part of “Fa’ la cosa giusta!” (Do the right think) – the fair of responsible consumption and sustainable lifestyles – the prize-giving event of the third edition of ReStartAlp. ReStartAlp is a business incubator for the relaunch of the Terre Alte, promoted and organised by Fondazione Cariplo and Fondazione Edoardo Garrone.

The prizes, worth a total of 60,000 euros, were awarded by the Edoardo Garrone Foundation to the three best projects developed during the Residential Campus, which took place from 18 June to 28 September 2018 in Premia (VCO), in the heart of the North-Western Alps.

Second prize, worth EUR 20,000, to Chiara Spigarelli (28 years old, Udine) with ‘Vello D’oro’, a company that aims to transform sheep wool waste according to a short and sustainable supply chain.

ReStartAlp for Fondazione Cariplo is an important part of a broader project dedicated to the rebirth of inland areas launched in 2016 with the intersectoral AttivAree Programme. The campuses represent a concrete contribution to the return to the mountains by young people who add the enthusiasm and energy of the entrepreneurial challenge to their desire to repopulate places.

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