We first bought our alpacas with the idea of harvesting the fiber only and only as time went by did we get more into the breeding of quality alpacas to be able to sell. We never wanted to have a farm store and joined the Natural Fiber Producers cooperative. They use a certified fiber sorter, have the fiber then sent to regional locations, and then set up different product runs with companies across the United States. Each individual farm can then get products back to sell in a farm store or a farm can have it put into a wholesale pool so that when someone buys it the cooperative can send you the proceeds from that sale. We plan on using the second way of making money from the sorted fiber, but what does one do with the fiber that is deemed rug quality or the scraps from shearing day?
Well, we had it made into rugs that we now need to sell. C&M Acres in Maxwell, Iowa produced the rugs for us and our plans are to go to a few arts and crafts fair, host a national alpaca farm day and have these for sale that day, or sell from home by appointment. The rugs are made by first spinning the fiber around a cotton core. Those cords are woven on a loom using cotton threads to provide various patterns. The ends are either banded or trimmed with cotton threads providing a fringe. Each rug is a throw rug that is approximately 2' by 3' and is priced at $60.00. They are really fiber art that can be used in a utilitarian way or hung on the wall as art! They make a great gift!