Llama – the diamond of the Andes As the title “Llama, the diamond of the Andes” says, fine, resistant and natural accessories, cloths and other goods, were made in the Andean region from llama leather and wool, and were appreciated more than diamond. These old traditions and the handicraft expertise of the Andean people are also very useful in today’s fashion world in the implementation of modern design projects. The impressive local expertise makes it possible to create modern designs that have great demand in Europe. Fashionable expressions can be shown with Llama products in a nearly unlimited way.
The Llama The llama (Llama glama), the alpaca (Llama pacos), the guanaco (Llama guanicoe) and the vicuna (Vicugna Vicugna) are all members of the Camelids family; this group of four is also known as South American or Andean Camelids. The dromedary (Camelus dromedarius) and the camel (Camelus Bactrianus) being the 2 other members of that family.
The guanaco and the vicugna (or vicuña) are wild animals while the llama and the alpaca have been progressively domesticated by the inhabitants of the Andes. The long domestication process probably started around 5,000 b.c.
 |
 |
Andean civilizations Andean civilizations prior to the Incas had already developed very well organized systems to breed llamas and alpacas both extensively and intensively and had reached a very high level of weaving craftsmanship, which evidence can be appreciated by visiting any Bolivian or Peruvian textile collection.
The pre-eminent breeding area for Andeans Camelids was and still is located in the highlands (altiplano) urrounding lake Titicaca, cradle of the pre-Inca civilization of Tiwanaku - Bolivia (Tihuanacu) and presently part of the Peruvian department of Puno.
The ecological area called “Altiplano” in the west of Bolivia, situated between 3,800 and 4,800 m above sea level, is the most important breeding area for llamas. The “Puna”, south of Peru, is the most important breeding area for alpacas, specially the humid Puna (as opposed to the dry Puna).
The Alpaca Fiber
Alpaca fibers come in various natural colors: white, beige, coffee, grey and black with many variations in tones and a lot of possible combinations. Alpaca fiber possesses an excellent dyeing affinity and can be very nicely dyed in an infinite variety of hues. The spinning mills usually have their own color cards (and an impressive color bank) but clients can always have special colors developed.
Like for other natural fibers, 3 main criteria are used to classify the alpaca fibers in various groups of qualities:
Fineness, diameter of the fiber expressed in microns.
Length of the fiber, expressed en mm.
Color of the fiber.
Classification of the fleece fiber depends on the 3 above mentioned criteria and is carried out by a highly specialized and experienced staff using only 2 of their senses: sense of touch and sight.
When slivers, tops and yarns are produced, all the controls requested by the industry standards are strictly applied by the spinning mills which have fully equipped in-house laboratories with state-of-the-art control device mechanisms. This allows the spinning mills to offer products meeting the strictest quality standards requested by demanding foreign and local buyers.
The same level of quality follow-up and control is applied by most of the manufacturing units when garments (knitted or woven) are produced. |
 |
Baby Alpaca
 |
Baby Alpaca and alpaca wool (the latest also known as alpaca Super Fine/SF or simply alpaca) are the 2 most common quality groups proposed to buyers by the spinning mills and garment manufacturers; the baby alpaca with a thinner diameter and a longer length of fiber is a true premium, luxury fiber, which is soft, smooth, shiny.
Alpaca (super fine) is also an excellent, long lasting fiber, usually used plain or blended.
Mills are combining baby alpaca and wool with many other materials to offer a large variety of attractive blends:
Spinning mills for alpaca yarns are not many. It is a heavily concentrated sector. It has to be noted that most of the mills are in Peru (in fact many Bolivian knitting factories are using Peruvian yarns), and only very few companies control a large share of the alpaca slivers, tops and yarns market. |
|
