In November 2003, Rachel and I travelled to Peru for the 7 th

Transcription

1 By Greg Graham Valley of Peace Alpacas In November 2003, Rachel and I travelled to Peru for the 7 th showing of the World Alpaca Fiesta. This is an event that showcases everything that encompasses the world of alpaca shows, trade events, textile tours, workshops, fibre and yarn development, fashion shows, and even included the development of a pelt and meat cuts industry, all on show at the alpaca festival. This is the story of our experiences and it will hopefully take you further into the world of the alpacas. In our opinion, Peru is truly the home of superior alpaca breeding. It is also the largest producer in the world of alpaca textiles and, of course, it is also the birthplace of what is now known as the modern alpaca, so it was fitting that Arequipa, Peru was chosen as the venue for the IX International Alpaca Fiesta and South American Camelids festival. Arequipa, the capital city for the province of the same name, is located in southern Peru just over 1000kms from Lima. It is settled in the outskirts of the western mountains of the Andes at the foot of three volcanoes, Chachani, Pichu Pichu and Misti. The region of Arequipa is 63,528km squared and its altitude is 2350 meters above sea level. Rainfall here is minimal, with sunshine for practically 365 days of the year, the outer surrounding areas are, for lack of a better word, desert, in fact one of the driest deserts on earth. The buildings in the city itself are made of a volcanic rock called sillar that is off white in colour, which gives the name to Arequipa as the White City - it is a wonderful, simple and beautiful place. The first day of the Fiesta was low key with registration and general orientation of the facilities for the attendees from such countries as the UK, United States, Canada, Germany, Australia, China, Japan, Switzerland, Italy, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile, Argentina and of course New Zealand. The entire place was electric with a buzz of expectation for the days ahead. That evening 24 Vicuña Chaccu

2 Vicuña Shearing Fertility Tradition we were treated to a spectacular parade, many many Pisco sours (the local drink) were handed out and consumed by the excited crowd. The following night we were treated to the opening ceremonies and an absolutely fantastic display of Peruvian dance, song and food finished of with an awesome fireworks display. Many sore heads followed the next morning but the night was enjoyed by all. The next day was perhaps the most challenging for us. It was the day of the Chaccu, the ritual round up of the wild Vicuña. For the two hundred or so participants that took part it was a 5.30am wake up and on to one of the six tour buses taking us up to the Chaccu. We were based in Arequipa at 2500m above sea level and travelled for two to three hours before reaching the Chaccu area at a whopping 4600 meters above sea level. The area where the Chaccu was located is a vast expanse of alpine grasslands with huge rolling hills all around and very little oxygen for sea level dwellers like us. For many this was their first look at the region known as the Altiplano. After approximately two hours of chasing and encircling a large group of these wonderfully beautiful animals we managed to herd eighty of them into a small fenced area. For those of us who did manage to run around with the Vicuña and not pass out, we were rewarded by being part of the Fertility Blessing. This involved selecting two Vicuña from the herd, one male - the other female, nicking their ears and combining their blood. The blood is collected in a bowl, smeared onto the Vicuña, the breeder and anyone who thinks that they too need to be blessed and, therefore, increase their own fertility. Yes a strange custom - but typically Peruvian. Before leaving we were treated to some Peruvian style singing and dancing and witnessed a shearing demonstration of a young male Vicuña by Peru s champion shearer. Apart from the altitude sickness and the odd hangover from the night before it was an excellent day out. 25

3 Sorting Room at Michells 26 It was now Friday 14 th of November. The day began with a visit to one of the world s largest alpaca yarn and garment producers - Michells. If you are interested in seeing just how alpaca fleeces are sorted, graded and refined into the high quality garments we all know and love, then this is an interesting place to visit. Massive sorting rooms, huge machines and miles of yarn spinning devices are everywhere at Michells. Located in the southern sector of Arequipa and built on a site for the simple reason of water availability, so they can run their huge scouring plant, this factory is massive. The site which the factory is erected on has a large underground river flowing right underneath it, providing all the water they could ever need. Warehouses full of fibre, mostly white, with little old ladies and their female family members sitting amongst them surrounded by mountains of raw alpaca fleece, it s truly a sight. In stark contrast to this was the sorting area for the Vicuña. This was a small room with eight to ten women sitting at tables with a little bag of raw Vicuña fleece each. They would wet the fleece with a little green plant and then by hand remove all vegetable matter, no machines used here! Once this incredible fibre has been through the system and is clean and ready to be spun, it will sell for as much as $500 USD for less than 600 grams. Sorting Vicuña fleece

4 The tour of the Michells factory took us from the collection areas of raw fleece through to the processing of yarns and tops. From there we went on to the Inca Tops factory which took us through the manufacturing processes of yarn, fabric and garments followed by a visit to the Inca Tops retail outlet where an array of jerseys, jackets, capes, scarves suits, rolls of fabric, gloves and even a selection of alpaca shirts tempted purchasers. A few songs and nibbles and we were off back to the showgrounds to prepare for the afternoon s Fashion Show. The Fashion Show was dubbed as the highlight of the week. There were no less than ten designers from all over the world present to show their wares. The Parade was world class and of a presentation style one would expect to see in Italy or Paris and we were not disappointed! Unfortunately it was about then our camera started to cause problems but let me tell you there was a vast array of clothing from an absolutely stunning wedding dress to hot pants, slinky tee s. what a fantastic show! That night was the cultural evening. It was held in the heart of Arequipa in the Santa Catalina Monastery. This venue is four centuries old and covers four blocks, it s big!. Made of the typical white lava stone it is truly a beautiful place. We listened to lovely ancient music, it was very relaxing and I hate to say it but I and several Aussies fell asleep. Over the five days we had a busy schedule of workshops with fibre classing, visits to textile plants such as those mentioned above and heaps of trade stands to look at plus massive 1000 alpaca strong shows to watch. As well as these many events there were seminars to attend onsite at the show grounds. Janie Hicks from Aussie was speaking on the SRS in Alpaca. That s soft rolling skin for those of you who have not heard of SRS before. Another interesting seminar was held by Mr Marco Antonio Zuniga on the status of Vicuna and Guanacos in Peru. Did you know that the Guanaco has fibre that s 14 micron? That s pretty fine - the only problem is that because of the size and strength of these creatures there s no way of safely harvesting it so on the back of the Guanaco it stays. Marty McGee, noted alpaca whisperer, was also there holding a workshop and showing that it can be simple to train that wild alpaca you ve got in your paddock. Brown Suri Male 27

5 There were many other workshops running at the Fiesta that we just didn t get to see and the reason is this: 1000 Alpacas being judged at a show two minutes walk from the Conference Hall. This was the biggest collection of elite style alpacas and llamas we had ever had the privilege of seeing. The quality of some of these alpaca, no - all of these alpacas, was simply fantastic. There were six-year old champion huacaya breeding females with 14 micron fleeces carrying eight plus kilos of fleece, simply incredible! The one notable interest was that 95% of the alpacas at this show were white with exception of the suri classes. Colour just isn t a quality they value in Peru, at this stage anyway. I took so many photos of alpacas we started to get wool blind but we struggled on looking for that special one. The suri classes were the best for me. The structure and defined lines of these suri s with three and four year fleeces on was incredible, in particular, the Wazie class. What s a Wazie I hear you ask? Well it s a suri male that has been selected by his breeder to be the Spiritual protector of the alpaca herd and as such he is given much respect and power. Once declared a Wazie that alpaca will never be shorn again and this gives these animals a look that grabs you instantly, simply spellbinding. Eric Hoffman from the US had the privilege of judging this class as it is a non-competitive class. We spent days going over the alpacas at the Show, it was a great learning experience to have so many elite quality alpacas in front of you at one time, if you ever get the chance just go for it! Fleece from the Champion coloured Suri male Finally, Saturday night and the Gala dinner and what a night it was. It was held in a massive Marquee at a very upmarket hot spot called the Judges Club. The night was filled with opulent food and wine, music and dancing. It was a fitting end to what was an incredible trip to the home of alpacas - Peru. 14 micron fleece from a six year old female Champion and Reserve Champion coloured suri males 28