World Alpaca Conference
UK BAS chairman Shaun Daniel described the organisation’s registry as the
“golden thread” running through its centre. “We’ve got 1500 members and 30,000 registered animals,” he said. “Each year, we are seeing an increase of 200 members, 4000 crias born, and 3000 animal transferred.”
He described an active community that is excelling in many areas but most of all in fi bre. He also outlined the BAS’ plans to change its rules to allow members to trade in Europe.
FRANCE Gillian Howard-Evieux gave an update on the
industry in France where alpacas were fi rst introduced in 1995. Two societies have merged to form the Association Francais Llama Alpaca which now has 200 members and 1500 registered animals, with possibly up to 1000 more unregistered. She described the many challenges facing breeders in France, including an unevolving agricultural culture and the fact that land cannot be bought by people who are not farmers. There is no wool culture in France and no spinning or mini mills so there is much work to be done to develop a fi bre industry in the country.
Readers who were unable to attend the World Alpaca Conference can still make a difference to the work of its nominated charity. Amantani is an organi- sation intent on improving educational opportunities for Quechua children living in the Andes of Peru. It runs three boarding houses for 64 children that previously walked up to eight hours daily to get to school. Bridging this gap between home and school is Amantani’s mission.
A monthly contribution of just £5 can help to continue this small charity’s work. Visit
www.amantani.org.uk for further information.
24 Alpaca Summer 2012
A letter from Peru...
It is 28 May, 8.48pm (12.28pm UK time). It’s been a hell of a journey thus far, three planes, 24 hours, three capital cities, 3600m of elevation in one day but worth every single second to experience the next 24 hours.
Once again, we received a wonderful welcome at the airport. Pilar (the director) led us out to the car park which was no longer a functioning car park. Temporarily it had been turned into an Amantani party. The children in the projects had come on a special trip to welcome us at the airport, dressed in their traditional party clothes, singing and dancing to the music the band was playing! The whole airport watched the festivities unfold as we danced with the children for a good half hour. A surreal moment which at the altitude of 3600m gets your heart racing, and you can add a couple of heart beats fuelled by the amount of love bouncing from everyone. The first day in the office started with the usual tour around the Amantani’s partner orphanage in Cusco. What a fantastic job they do, extremely special people helping extremely special children. This all hit home when we met little Alfonzo. When I say little, I mean 23 days old, wrapped up in a little blanket, sleeping soundly and looking so peaceful. This beautiful child was the latest arrival to the orphanage. He had been left by his parents at birth and brought to the orphanage a few days later. The only silver lining I can find in this grey cloud is that Alphonzo could not be in better hands. We wish him luck for the future!...
Another encounter stands out in my mind. Maximilliana (Maxi) is a strong 17 year old from our boarding houses who looks after the young and her peers like an experienced mother. However, this particular encounter was in Cusco; Cusco hospital to be exact. Maxi had been taken in after she had been found between two communities having fallen off a horse. Her injuries from the fall were not too bad luckily, but scans showed parasites in her brain. This is tough for any young girl to take on, but a girl from a rural community, now in a hospital bed completely surrounded by western lifestyle, is enough to play with anyone’s mind; never mind the parasites. As always the courage and happiness that she showed was breathtaking. Even through her swollen eyes, she managed to squint 1000 words. I interpreted these words as, “don’t worry about me”. So humble, so caring for others - we keep our fingers crossed for her. Once again, I am absolutely blown away by the team Amantani has out here. Each teacher, cook, psychologist and tutor live and breathe the projects, creating the most fantastic learning and growing up environment possible. I feel extremely privileged to play a small part in such a life changing project!
Chris Palfreyman, co-director of Amantani UK
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