Alpaca Journal

The first Peruvian alpacas arrived in the United States in 1993. There were five subsequent imports in succeeding years and an additional 1998 Canadian import, which was sold in 1999. The registry was closed by an overwhelming vote of its membership in 1998. The registry identifies the Peruvian imports by designating their "country of origin" on the registration certificate. Read entire story

   The phone rang. It was 6:30 a.m. on my birthday, March 16, 1995. I was half asleep when Phil Mizrahie, of The Pet Center, asked me if I would like to fly to Peru and participate in the selection of 600 alpacas. A moment later I was wide awake and said, "Yes! When do I leave?" "Next Wednesday," he said. So began an alpaca adventure I will never forget. I flew to Miami and met up with several members of the selection team. Bill Barnett had just arrived from Seattle, Mary Reed flew in from Ohio and Fred Swift whom I'd never met arrived from Vermont. We boarded the plane at 11:59 p.m., headed for Lima and a change of planes for the flight into Cusco, the ancient capital city of the Inca empire. Read Entire Story.

Arequipa's El Tourista Hotel provokes a colonial image created by pink stucco walls, framed by high arches, open to broad verandas which give way to green lawns and giant, gnarled shade trees. The hotel, one of few still owned by the Peruvian Government, is set in Arequipa's finest residential neighborhood. During my recent visit to Peru, Don Julio agreed to meet me for lunch at El Tourista. Much to our surprise, just as the waiter delivered cold lemonade and beer to our table on the veranda, Dr. Walter Bravo appeared from an arriving taxi. Read entire story.

   The highlands of Peru are home to the vast majority of all the alpacas in the world. The Quechua Indians, who domesticated the vicuna more than five thousand years ago, are the source of the alpaca which now reside in the outside world. Their world of high plains and harsh environment resists the probability of profit, providing the Quechua only a subsistence level existence. A pair of shoes, an extracted tooth, or a warm blanket is out of reach for many of these people that time has forgotten. Comfort is a luxury experienced by only a few. Read Entire Story.

By Linda Cortright

            This article is another of the delightful pieces to be found in Wild Fibers Magazine. The article begins with the following paragraph:

“In the ever-growing lexicon of oxymorons, including such timeless favorites as military intelligence and happy marriage, one glaring omission from the list is gentleman farmer. That curious blend of refined comportment, coupled with sweaty overalls and calloused hands, seems as incongruous as a gold-plated manure spreader parked next to an antique Bugatti. And if I am wrong in this assertion, then perhaps my understanding of either “gentleman” or “farmer” is somehow lacking.”  Click here to read the entire article.

By Mike Safley

The indigenous Indians of Peru are unique in the modern world.  They are uniformly spiritual, uninterested in politics, and loyal to their families; they are not greedy or materialistic; they express themselves in shy smiles and rarely complain.  Their pride is intact despite the almost inhumane solitude of the Altiplano and dismal treatment by the last 500 years of history.  They have become a forgotten people, often abandoned by their government, exploited by the machinery of commerce and left behind by the advances of medicine and the march of modernity.  It is Quechua Benefit‘s goal to deliver a modest measure of relief and hope to the everyday challenge of their lives.

None of the chronicles written, mostly by Spaniards, that document the hundreds of years of subjugation of the Quechua people reports any instances of redeeming or enlightened treatment of the modern day Quechua’s ancestors.  The conquering Spaniards succeeded in killing hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Quechua men and women by commanding their services as beasts of burden.  There was silver ore to be mined and hauled from the mountains to the coast, tribute to be collected from the length and breadth of Peru, and military expeditions that required an endless number of human porters.  Hernando De Santilla observed that “down there [Peru] there is one disease worse than the rest: the unrestrained greed of the Spaniards.”

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Related Links:

Quechua Benefit: The Mission in the Andes
Quechua Benefit: An Expanding Mission in the Andes

Alpacas live closer to heaven than any other living creature. At midnight in the Andean Altiplano; you can see forever as the shimmering alpacas leap from the icy mountain tops to the diamond set sky of the Sierra. They will reappear at dawn. Alpacas are magical.

On many a morning we have stood on our front porch and watched the alpacas melt in and out of the mist as the sun rose, kissed their soft cheeks, and warmed their cria. The alpacas' magic image becomes alert as you walk toward them and they engage you with their long, honest gaze.

Alpacas are one of Mother Nature's favorite creatures and she has blessed them mightily. Alpacas are always respectful of the environment, never disturbing the earth with their padded feet, eating the tops off the grass and leaving a little for those that follow. As spring turns to summer, ever generous, they offer their warm fleece to be made into soft clothing for their masters' comfort.

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