Alpaca Fiber
If you want to raise Alpacas, you need to learn about the unique properties of their fiber.
Alpacas produce one of the world's finest and most luxurious natural fibers (read: non-man made and a renewable resource). It is soft, smooth and supple to the touch making it easy to wear next to the skin. Alpaca fiber has no lanolin (oily substance) like sheeps wool making it easier on those who have allergies. Soft as cashmere and warmer, lighter and stronger than wool, it comes in more colors than any other fiber producing animal (approximately 22 basic colors with many variations and blends).This cashmere-like fleece, once reserved for Incan royalty, is now enjoyed by spinners and weavers around the world.
Presently the largest Alpaca herds are located in their native South America (Peru, Bolivia, Chile). With several million animals to choose from, they are the leading provider of consumer Alpaca products. Alpacas have only been in the United States since 1984, so with a limited number of animals (some where around 150,000 and growing), it will be some time before we have enough animals to keep a commerical mill busy making "Made in the USA" products. The chalange before us is to produce the quantity and quality of animals to compete on a global basis.
The textile industry knows that alpacas have value. There is a growing worldwide demand for alpaca fiber products. Italy and Japan are large purchasers of quality Alpaca fiber for luxury fashions, with China now becoming the worlds largest purchaser of alpaca fiber products. Here in North America we are well on our way in being able to compete on a national scale with the formation of several Co-op's and the start up of many small fiber mills ready to process our fleece into yarn and rovings from which products can be made.
Our breeding goals at CnL Paca Farm are to continually improve our herd so that we can produce a high quality fiber that can be used to make poducts that consumers will purchase and enjoy. We believe that the future of Alpaca fiber is bright!
Alpacas produce one of the world's finest and most luxurious natural fibers (read: non-man made and a renewable resource). It is soft, smooth and supple to the touch making it easy to wear next to the skin. Alpaca fiber has no lanolin (oily substance) like sheeps wool making it easier on those who have allergies. Soft as cashmere and warmer, lighter and stronger than wool, it comes in more colors than any other fiber producing animal (approximately 22 basic colors with many variations and blends).This cashmere-like fleece, once reserved for Incan royalty, is now enjoyed by spinners and weavers around the world.
Presently the largest Alpaca herds are located in their native South America (Peru, Bolivia, Chile). With several million animals to choose from, they are the leading provider of consumer Alpaca products. Alpacas have only been in the United States since 1984, so with a limited number of animals (some where around 150,000 and growing), it will be some time before we have enough animals to keep a commerical mill busy making "Made in the USA" products. The chalange before us is to produce the quantity and quality of animals to compete on a global basis.
The textile industry knows that alpacas have value. There is a growing worldwide demand for alpaca fiber products. Italy and Japan are large purchasers of quality Alpaca fiber for luxury fashions, with China now becoming the worlds largest purchaser of alpaca fiber products. Here in North America we are well on our way in being able to compete on a national scale with the formation of several Co-op's and the start up of many small fiber mills ready to process our fleece into yarn and rovings from which products can be made.
Our breeding goals at CnL Paca Farm are to continually improve our herd so that we can produce a high quality fiber that can be used to make poducts that consumers will purchase and enjoy. We believe that the future of Alpaca fiber is bright!
Email Form
Have a question? Have a comment? Please contact us!
We are sorry, but we are not doing any farm tours at this time.
