Burel 100% Wool is a compact, wear-resistant, water-repellent and fire retardant wool that originates from the Serra da Estrela mountain region of central Portugal.

Originally it is was used by native highland people, to protect themselves from cold winds, rain and snow.

Nowadays it provides the source for a wide range of design solutions, including the children’s luxury artisan animals by Carapau Portuguese Products.

Burel 100% Wool

  • 100% Portuguese 
  • 100% wool
  • fire resistant
  • water resistant
  • thermal and acoustic insulation
  • hygroscopic
  • anti-electrostatic
  • abrasion resistance
  • tough
  • flexible
  • natural
  • agro-product
  • don’t give off fluff

Burel 100% Wool comes from the Bordaleira sheep breed of Serra da Estrela and the northern region of Portugal. The breed has a docile personality, is medium height, has a well developed skeleton with muscular body, white or black and the weight varying between 50 and 100kg.

Their presence in the region has been recorded in centuries of history, and the people of the mountains have tamed them for the wool that always protected them from the harshness of the mountains. The Bordaleira sheep’s milk also defined the local economy and gastronomy.

With Burel nothing is lost. All wool is transformed. Wool is a valuable and respected resource from the beginning of growth until it is transformed at the Burel Factory located in the same landscape as it is sourced. The manufacturers work in a rational and sustainable way, to balance production with animal welfare. They also believe that a “too fast” approach lacks originality and quality.

Typically, the fabric is a bland natural beige or grey colour, and not particularly soft against the skin. The fabric is made from a unique process of washing the wool, spinning the wool and weaving it into fabric. It then gets pounded and scalded with very hot water. 

Dyes are added to the wool to create the colours used by Carapau Portuguese Products in their Children’s Luxury Artisan Animals.