It All Began in Puno

Legend has it that everything began in Puno, a region in the south of Peru at the north western shore of lake Titicaca at 12,664 feet above sea level. Lake Titicaca is an important part of Inca mythology and tradition for it is believed that the first Inca rose from its waters and founded the Inca empire.  

Puno, also known as the Altiplano, is a region of contrasts with cold, semi-arid climate where history, geography and ancient customs and traditions blend with the amazing landscape of the highlands. It is also home to the alpaca, a rare and precious animal, with the ability to tolerate extraordinarily harsh climatic conditions, treasured by the ancient Inca civilisation and thought to be a cross between llamas and vicuñas some 6000 years ago.  Vicuña and alpaca wool as well as cotton were among the most valuable fibres in the Incan culture and played an important role not only in society, but also in religion and politics. The fine fleece of alpacas, for example, was reserved exclusively for Incan royalty.  

Our journey, however, does not end there... 

In our search, we continue our trip north to Cusco, known to the Incas as “the navel of the world”. What makes our trip to the Capital of the Inca Empire so unique are the people and culture of those who live there. The Inca culture and traditions are ever so present in the architecture, traditional folk dances and people´s way of life in each of the towns we visit. What catches our attention the most are the distinct bright, colourful textiles used and the traditional Andean clothing, including capes, shawls, embroidered skirts, and vibrantly coloured hats local women wear. 

As we get closer to Cusco, travelling along a hiking trail of breath-taking landscape, we arrive at what will probably be the absolute highlight of our trip: the Winikunka or “Seven Colour Mountain”. Intense green, purple, yellow, red, and blue make the amazing range of colours which are the result of sedimentary rocks eroding for millions of years.

The Alpaca 

Alpacas are a distant relative of the camel. They are highly intelligent and easy to train. In comparison to other herding animals such as sheep or goats, alpacas are considered “low-impact” animals to the environment because they do not bother trees and their padded feet do not have the same effect on the ground as hooves. 

Our Priorities:  
Animal Welfare 

In the highlands of Peru, alpacas are able to move around freely and are kept in a manner that is appropriate for the species. In Pacomarca, a 3,700-acre farm located east of Cusco, herdsmen are taught about the best practices for shearing, breeding and maintaining the animals.  Good nutrition and adequate care guarantee healthy herds.  The animals are sheared twice a year with modern machines in order not to subject them to any kind of stress.  

Sustainability & Fair Trade 

Once the animals are sheared, the alpaca fleece is taken to a processing mill located in Arequipa, Peru´s second largest city. The fleece is then sorted by hand to guarantee the best quality. It is then cleaned, combed, dyed and spun. The working conditions are fair and great value is placed on a recycling economy in order to protect the environment. This means that the entire process is self-contained. For example, the mud produced when the fibres are washed is used to fertilize the pastures which will later be used to nourish the animals. Care is taken to ensure that energy consumption is made more environmentally friendly by using solar energy, and the water that is used is recycled. 

Our Environment 

All the way through, from the animal fibre itself to the way we package our finished yarns, sustainability is a key element of our philosophy. We are concerned about our environment. Therefore, our yarns are completely free of synthetic fibres, consisting solely of 100% natural fibres.  We avoid plastic wherever possible, so our packaging is also plastic free.