In collaboration with Chris Switzer of Switzerland Farm, Abby Franquemont, Trudy Van Stralen and Fibre Isle Spinning Mill, we have designed and created a luxurious yarn that contains 15% American Paco Vicuna fiber, 15% SeaCell, and 70% hand dyed Optim wool. This is a limited edition product that is now in stock.
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What is a Paco-Vicuņa? |
The vicuņa (Vicugna vicugna) or vicugna[2] is one of two wild South American camelids, along with the guanaco, which live in the high alpine areas of the Andes. It is a relative of the llama, and is now believed to be the wild ancestor of domesticated alpacas, which are raised for their fiber. Vicuņas produce small amounts of extremely fine wool, which is very expensive because the animal can only be shorn every 3 years. When knitted together, the product of the vicuņa's fur is very soft and warm. It is understood that the Inca raised vicuņas for their wool, and that it was against the law for any but royalty to wear vicuņa garments.
Both under the rule of the Inca and today, vicuņas have been protected by law. Before being declared endangered in 1974, only about 6,000 animals were left. Today, the vicuņa population has recovered to about 125,000, and while conservation organizations have reduced its level of threat, they still call for active conservation programs to protect population levels from poaching, habitat loss, and other threats.
