The Merino is an excellent forager and very adaptable. It is bred predominantly for its wool, and its carcass size is generally smaller than that of sheep bred for meat. South African Meat Merino (SAMM), American Rambouillet and German Merinofleischschaf have been bred to balance wool production and carcass quality.
Merino need to be shorn at least once a year because their wool does not stop growing. If the coat is allowed to grow, it can cause heat stress, mobility issues, and blindness.
The Phoenicians introduced sheep from Asia Minor into North Africa and the foundation flocks of the merino in Spain might have been introduced as late as the 12th century by the Marinids, a tribe of Berbers. although there were reports of the breed in the Iberian peninsula before the arrival of the Marinids; perhaps these came from the Merinos or tax collectors of the Kingdom of León, who charged the tenth in wool, beef jerky and cheese. In the 13th and 14th centuries, Spanish breeders introduced English breeds which they bred with local breeds to develop the merino; this influence was openly documented by Spanish writers at the time.
Spain became noted for its fine wool (spinning count between 60s and 64s) and built up a fine wool monopoly between the 12th and 16th centuries, with wool commerce to Flanders and England being a source of income for Castile in the Late Middle Ages.
Most of the flocks were owned by nobility or the church; the sheep grazed the Spanish southern plains in winter and the northern highlands in summer. The Mesta was an organisation of privileged sheep owners who developed the breed and controlled the migrations along cañadas reales suitable for grazing.
The three Merino strains that founded the world’s Merino flocks are the Royal Escurial flocks, the Negretti and the Paula. Among Merino bloodlines stemming from Vermont in the USA, three historical studs were highly important: Infantado, Montarcos and Aguires.
Olympus OM-D EM-1 Mark II
Zuiko 300mm f4 PRO
Photographer Sandro Tasso Wide Angle photo studio
Franschhoek and Paarl
Sean and Avril Wedding sneak peek
In the beautiful valley of Franschhoek at Cafe Bon Bon Sean and Avril said ” I do”
It was a pleasure to be part as a photographer at your wedding a couple full of life love and humor!
Location: Cafe’ BonBon Franschhoek http://www.lapetite.co.za for more info on the location please contact
Photographer: Sandro Tasso Wide Angle photo studio
Second Photographer: Toby Maggs
Great day great couple thank you for everything!
I had the opportunity to take pictures to this two amazing little girls. I have spent few hours with them and they are really amazing full of energy and fun!
Location: Franschhoek Paarl
Camera: Olympus OM-D EM-1 and Pen F
Lenses: Olympus 45mm f1.8 Olympus 40-150mm f2.8 PRO and the new Olympus 300mm f4 PRO
Studio Lighting Workshop Vintage Pin-Up sponsored by Olympus at Cameraland Cape Town
Come on saturday 6 february a basic studio lighting workshop.
time 08:30 – 12:30
Venue: Cameraland Cape Town
Co-founders Bradley and Jeremy explain what the project Future Champs is all about:
Future Champs – Youth Boxing Gym – Social Enterprise Model – scalable solution – great for both the urban and rural contextFuture Champs builds youth boxing gyms constructed from repurposed shipping containers in the most under resourced and vulnerable communities of South Africa and sets them up as social enterprises. Our process begins with the identification of coaches, who are trained in collaboration with the Good Sport Trust (internationally certified physical education training and youth mentorship qualifications) and supported to run these gyms as sustainable social enterprises and community assets.We use boxing as our medium to engage and attract youth, but the gyms go beyond a simple boxing club they become hubs and a space for youth activity. Boxing training and amateur competition framed within a personal development and mentorship program lays a perfect foundation to engage youth facing the challenges of poverty, crime and lack of opportunities. The gyms become a beacon of positive youth activity, a public amenity and community asset changing space in urban poor communities. We target youth from between 6 – 21 years old and have many girls taking up boxing, which immediately develops confidence, self esteem and is great for self defense.The sport of boxing has deep roots and a rich history in the South African context, along with soccer boxing remains a mass popularity sport. Despite the fact that there is very little investment in the sport our boxers continue to perform on the world stage and are positive role models for underprivileged youth. It is now time that we build on this heritage and invest in the future and develop this legacy to create new opportunities for the youth of South Africa.All our gyms are fitted with a classroom where members of the gym participate in homework sessions and remedial classes, we are developing this into a major component which includes formalized monitoring and evaluation – so that we can track kids school performance and improvement as a result of being part of the gym.Because the gyms are constructed from repurposed shipping containers it makes them a fantastic branding opportunity and CSI Investment for corporates. The financial model is set up where corporates can invest in a gym as a social enterprise and wrap the entire gym in branding essentially creating an outdoor 3D billboard. In this way they can invest in a high visibility, high impact social project and still enjoy fantastic tax breaks, up BEE and CSI points. Thus they would contribute to the gyms construction and then enter into a contract to contribute a monthly amount towards the running costs in exchange for the branding.Every gym is fitted with a boxing ring at the centre which allows the gym to double as a venue, meaning on a monthly basis amateur tournaments can take place creating another revenue stream and a way that the gym directly links with its host community. We are also planning that where possible the gym develops private clients during times that the youth are not training where revenue can be generated from personal training and fitness classes.
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