The Flaxmobile Project supports farmers and craftspeople across Mi’kma’ki: Nova Scotia to cultivate fibre flax as an alternative to fossil-fuel based fibres. The Flaxmobile Project is a three-phase research project that involves a mobile facility for educational immersion and fibre flax processing. The project is creating a critical network that connects farmers, fibre mills, craftspeople and consumers to explore the sustainable futures of textile supply chains and to address the material security gap across Mi’kma’ki: Nova Scotia.
Fibre flax thrives in our Maritime climate; it is fully biodegradable, zero-waste, and the plant source for linen. While robust networks for local textiles existed in Nova Scotia until the early 1920s, present systems of globalized commerce, and a migration away from rural communities has led to the decline of these sectors.
The Flaxmobile Project is encouraging the development of a local and sustainable fibre flax industry to provide a consistent supply of high-quality fibres and fibre by-products to support our culture sector. We intervene in existing systems of textiles and fashion production to initiate change through sustainable fibre-to-fabric value chains.
Our approach includes five objectives:
Reduce barriers for Nova Scotians who wish to access locally produced and sustainable textiles and clothing, as well as natural building materials, such as flaxcrete and bio-char
Generate local, green jobs across the agriculture, craft, and building sectors that are in line with principles of the circular economy
Contribute to a broader long-term shift toward buying local and removing virgin polyester and synthetic fibres from entering Nova Scotia and ending up in our waste stream
Generate sharable knowledge to support climate change adaptation in other Nova Scotian communities
Address Nova Scotia’s target for GHG emissions reduction by sequestering 68 tonnes of carbon by 2030 and 3,669 tonnes by 2050