As mentioned in the previous Update, we decided to split up so that Gabriel could scout options in Puno while I did so in Huamanga. After ‘enjoying’ a 17-hour bus ride to Cuzco, followed by a night bus to Puno, Gabriel settled into the lovely Inka’s Rest hostel. Soon, he arranged a meeting with Cleida Inkakutipa, a contact kindly brought our way by Socialpaca partner Karla of KUN Eco Fibras in Ecuador (see Update 2).
Meeting Cleida was a fantastic experience. Having worked in the field of textiles for many years, she got involved in an American social development project. In 2017 however, the company in charge of the project decided to leave Peru. So she decided to keep things going independently, managing to sell to several retailers in France and the US, among others. Working directly with alpaqueros (alpaca shepherds) and artisans means she has excellent relationships with all of them, and is able to provide the high level of transparency we so value.
While Gabriel also visited various other artisans as usual, Cleida remained the only promising lead. To deepen his understanding of her practices and network, he took a colectivo (public van) to Conduriri where, after a bumpy ride, he visited a family of alpaqueros, whose entire income derived from a herd of about 500 animals – a typical approach in Peru.
Surrounded by spectacular views of the páramo, a special, ecologically valuable and vulnerable ecosystem, Gabriel learned about the deep, traditional relationship this family has with its alpacas. It is a 24/7 job, they say, to protect the herd against predators, help new-born cría survive their first hours and months, shear the alpacas, process the wool artisanally, and even grow a small amount of barley to help the animals survive the drought period. Despite these great efforts, they try to not intrude into the lives of their alpacas. They guard them from a distance, letting them roam as freely as possible, only interfering where necessary.
And although they spend most of their available time on alpaca-related duties, they don’t even have remotely enough time to process all the wool, so the vast majority of it is sold to big producers (of course at ridiculous prices). But according to Hermina, the owner of the lands, only mediocre wool (qualities 2 to 5) is sold unprocessed. Then, it is artificially made to feel smooth and sold as highest quality material. This demonstrates once again the lack of transparency and fair pay in the Peruvian alpaca industry, confirming the necessity of our approach.
Before leaving, the owner pointed out that there was a baby who had been rejected by its mother. Cleida decided to purchase the baby and bring it to her parents’ farm, where it could have the cow’s milk needed to replace its mother’s milk. As a result, Gabriel got to share a cab with the cutest co-passenger imaginable!
After two successful weeks of searching and learning, Gabriel and I had a call to decide whether to select Puno or Huamanga as our base of operations. And although we had met fantastic and competent people in both cities, there was no denying that Puno, with its strong culture in artisanal alpaca products, was the ideal choice to continue our mission.