Alpacas: Signature Montana Spring 2013

Alpacas: story on the Sleeping Giant Alpaca Farm from Polly Kolstad

     Sandra Rumney swings the metal gate open, and forty-two fleecy heads in the corral nearby turn her way.

     Recognizing their trusted keeper, Rumney’s alpaca herd begins to hum.

     “They are mouth breathers. That is how they communicate,” replies Rumney of the curious animal chorus that seems to come closer and closer.  She smiles and explains: “they walk up to a person in an effort to smell your breath as a means of identification.”  Oddly, they don’t want to be petted.  They just want to be in your face.

     In the shadow of the Sleeping Giant Mountain near Cascade, Rumney is raising these members of the camelid family (and cousins to the llama, guanaco, and vicuna) for their fleece.

     Far from their native South America, where they are found in the high Andes of 14,000 ft. elevation, the alpacas have adapted to the Montana climate.

     After retiring from years in the advertising business, Rumney brought the animals from a small acreage she and her husband, Jeff, had in California.  She acknowledges that “the winters in Montana are a little cold for them,” yet, alpacas are healthy and easy to raise. For over two years, she has kept her long haired herd of Huacaya (teddy bear) and Suri alpacas.

    Forever an animal lover, Rumney points out that though they are curious, for the most part they don’t want to be touched. Alpacas can kick, but because of their size (three feet tall at the withers), the impact is minimal, and interestingly, they do not spit on you. (Llamas will spit.)  They are too small to pack or be ridden.  Possessing only bottom teeth and a hard palate on the top, the alpacas graze and do not rip grass out by the roots. They take supplements of vitamins and minerals in pellet form. They are almost indefensible without horns, hooves, or claws.  Surrounding the corral is a high tensile electric fencing and a guardian dog to keep predators out.  Recognizing their dependency, Rumney is always vigilant, but does let “the boys” out in the pasture during the day. The adult males show up at the corral at five o’clock for dinner and want the security of the barn.  Some of the males are “herdsires” (or studs, aka “Macho”) and are used to breed.

     The moms are very protective of the babies.   Babies are called” “cria” (based on the word creation). A female is either a maiden or a “hembra” and will have only one cria, weighing between ten and twenty pounds, after a gestation period of nearly twelve months.

     Rumney provides a proper and protective environment for her herd which has a positive impact on the overall health and well being of the alpaca which in turn aids in the quality of their fleece production.

      Alpacas produce a fleece that is lighter, softer, stronger and warmer than wool.  Alpaca fleece has no allergens.  The microscopic air pockets make it light weight with a high insulation value.  It is one of the finest fibers in the world, with very little barb. Both male and female alpacas will produce a good fiber. 

     The shearing season is usually in May.  Alpacas fleece will grow four to six inches per year.  If they are not shorn, they do not shed their wool.  It takes three people to shear an animal, with the resulting fleece weighing five to eleven pounds. 

    After she shears the alpaca, Rumney hand washes the fleece in cool water with mild soap or shampoo.  It must be just swished around in the water, not agitated.  All told, she may wash it two or three times  and then, hang the fiber on hangars to dry.  Next, the clean fiber which looks like cotton and feels like silk, is spread out on a screen.  Eventually, it is immersed in dye baths for 45 minutes, then, set until cool, about twelve hours.  This long arduous process of making fabric, or wet felting, continues as Rumney then cards the fiber on a hand cranked machine.  Thus the fiber becomes combed and is laid out on a table according to her design in sheets on top of one another.  Here, the fiber is rolled on bubble wrap with a back and forth motion so the fibers shrink and interlock with each other.  The rolling process is repeated from the other end to further intertwine the fiber.  

     “It’s making fabric,” Rumney says of the wet felting process which is 7000 years old, and predates weaving.

      Observers today recognize the quality of American alpaca fleece. The commercial market is wide open in the U.S.

     “Even on the catwalks in Paris, designers have alpaca, and now, show ring people recognize the fiber and how good it is on the animals. A judge from Peru can’t believe how fast the quality has grown in the US,” she remarks.  

       Rumney takes her products to juried art shows.   

     “I make wearable art,” she notes, alluding to her handmade original scarves and wraps, woven rugs, and woven throws that she has sold all over the north west, and her purse designs which she hopes to put on the market this summer.  In addition, she buys goat milk soap from a neighbor and felts it with alpaca fleece. Her products are currently available at Latigo and Lace in Augusta, Montana, and at the Four Ravens in Missoula.

     Blue ribbons attesting to the quality of Rumney’s fiber fabric and the value of her herdsires line the walls of the Sleeping Giant Alpaca Farm, a tribute to the roots of Sandra and Jeff Rumney whose Montana families go back generations.

     For pictures of Rumney’s products, go to sgthreads.com