In essence there are 3 things to do with your fiber. You can literally process it yourself, you can hire the services of someone else to do some or all of the processing for you, or you can join a cooperative, pool or similar collaborative group of some sort to have your fiber utilized. Well, there is a 4th thing – do nothing – but that’s not worthy of discussion!
Do it yourself
There is a wealth of information on internet for how to wash, comb, card & spin alpaca fiber, including how to blend and how to dye. I have a pamphlet available called “Turning Fiber Into Gold” where I have already collected much of this information for your convenience.
Hire it done
There are many custom mills that can process your fleeces and return it to you in whatever form you desire. Some will also knit or weave finished items for you. Cost and quality may vary greatly from mill to mill. Be sure to ask for and to check references for the mill or other custom processing you choose.
Here is a link to AlpacaNation where several mills are listed. http://alpacanation.com/alpaca-services/alpaca-services-2.asp?servicetype=12&servicename=Fiber%20Mills/Processing
Wild Fibers Magazine has a directory of mills listed in the back of each issue. Also you will usually find several ads for mills in this magazine. http://www.wildfibersmagazine.com/
International Camelid Quarterly magazine http://www.llamas-alpacas.com/ and AOBA’s Alpacas Magazine http://www.alpacasmagazine.com/index.asp also have ads for custom fiber processing.
Team up with others
A cooperative is a special type of corporation in the eyes of the IRS – the members are shareholders who own and operate (co-operators) the business. Profits from Cooperative corporations are taxed differently than regular corporations because the US Government recognizes the importance for small farms to be able to work together and pool their efforts.
Naturally, a cooperative is not the only form of business which can be involved in pooling fiber or collaborating to process fiber for groups of farms.
Here is a listing of farmers cooperatives and other businesses involved with pooling alpaca fiber:
http://www.afcna.com/ AFCNA (Alpaca Fiber Cooperative of North America Inc) is the biggest alpaca fiber cooperative in North America with over 2000 farms in the US and Canada and the oldest, established in 1998.
http://www.fibrecoop.ca/ The Canadian Camelid Fibre Cooperative (CCFC) is the only nationally based fibre co-op in Canada.
http://www.naafp.us/ NAAFP (North American Alpaca Fiber Producers) is an agriculture cooperative of alpaca fiber producers who have their fiber sorted by a certified fiber sorter, using the Certified Sorted(TM) system.
http://www.neafp.com/ The New England Alpaca Fiber Pool (NEAFP, Pronounced NEEF) is an Alpaca Fiber processing service. Private company, not a co-op.
http://www.alpacablanketproject.com/ The Alpaca Blanket Project is collaboration of American alpaca growers. As far as I know, there is a single owner. Not a cooperative.
http://www.llamafibercoop.com/ The Pacific Northwest Llama Fiber Cooperative (PNWLFC) is a member owned company whose specialty is the fabrication and marketing of high quality llama fiber products.
It’s all about the fleece!!
Whether you choose to do it all with your own hands from soup to nuts or to have minimal personal processing, do SOMETHING with your fleece each year promptly after shearing. Improperly stored fleeces degrade rather quickly or become infested with moths or other pests. Even in the most optimum climate and humidity controlled storage, unwashed fleeces can become dry and brittle in about 3 years time. It’s literally a case of use it or lose it.
Tags: AFCNA, alpaca, co-op, cooperative, fiber, fleece, international year of natural fibers, natural fiber, roving, shearing, yarn
