The Fleece of the Gods - Inca Gold

Originally from South America, alpacas live on the Andes Mountains. They can be found throughout Peru, Chile, Bolivia and Argentina where they are used for their meat, fiber, and leather. However, it is their fiber that has been valued and cherished thousands of years. Home on harsh, high mountain plains, alpacas are very hardy and agile. Their dense, heavy fiber makes a perfect coat to protect them from severe weather and long winters.

There are two types of alpacas - the Huacaya (wah-KI-ah) and the Suri (SIR-ee). The huacaya has a shorter, dense, crimpy fleece, giving it a very woolly appearance.

Here at Fiori del Campo we specialize in Suri alpacas. Their fleece grows in long and silky, distinctive pencil-like locks. A high quality suri fleece is so lustrous that it glistens in the sunlight and feels like silk to the touch.

To watch Suris move across the pasture, their locks swaying gently with every move, one can see the true distinction and elegance of these gentle creatures. When the sunlight hits their lustrous coat it glistens and feels like silk to the touch.

Suri alpacas are rare and comprise only 5% to 7% of the world's alpaca population, making them highly sought after. They are strong, intelligent and easy to breed. Many affectionately describe their fleece as a "curtain of silk." Recognized as a rare and exotic fiber, Suri fleece, is coveted by the fashion industry and cherished by hand spinners.

• It rivals the softness of cashmere
• It displays an eye catching silky luster
• It provides incredible warmth
• It is extremely durability
• It is suitable for dyeing different colors

Alpacas live for up to 20 years, so they are a long-term investment. They are about 36" tall at the withers and weigh about 150 pounds. They have a long reproductive life and produce fleece for their entire lives. Their gestation period is eleven and one half months, and they have a single cria. Occasionally there will be twins, but these are extremely rare.

Perfect for a family farm alpaca are gentle and easy to handle. They are safe even for younger children to work with as they do not bite or butt. This is a venture that the whole family can work on together.

It is our vision that alpacas have the potential to make a vital impact on the economy. Well suited to the land and environment they are also environmentally friendly, protecting the land that we love in the following ways:

• Alpaca have soft padded feet. This leaves pasture undamaged, and usable for years.
• They have no top front teeth, so they are gentle grazers.
• The alpaca does not usually eat or destroy trees.
• The average alpaca only eats four pounds of food a day.
• Although they need a regular fresh water supply alpaca do not require abundant amounts of water.
• The herd tends to deposit their manure in one or two spots in the pasture, making clean up easier.
• Alpaca manure is a fantastic fertilizer.
• One good acre of pasture can support up to ten alpacas.
• Alpacas require minimal fencing, as they do not challenge it. One must be careful, however, to have enough fencing to keep them safe from predators.
• They can produce four to eight pounds of fleece per year.
• Alpaca fleece produces 87 to 95 percent clean fiber, a highter percent than sheep's wool.