Winter - Classical MileEnd Alpacas

Peru's mountainous landscape is a
breathtaking experience for thousands
of visitors every year, but it has proved costly
for isolated communities across the country.
More than 50 per cent of the population
in Peru survive on less than one dollar a day,
surviving by growing and selling food. Alpacas
are vital to their way of life as they are used for
their milk, wool and for transporting goods to
market.
Recent cold weather has seen disaster strike
as thousands of alpacas could not survive the
freezing temperatures, having devastating effects
on communities leaving them facing a crisis.
Changing lives: Small is beautiful
However, international development charity
Practical Action has been working with
Peruvian communities for a number of years
and has come up with innovative new ways
for people to look after their alpacas and avoid
disaster before it strikes.
Practical Action was introduced by radical
economist, philosopher and author of Small
is Beautiful, Dr E F Schumacher more than
40 years ago. Schumacher strongly believed
in using small scale, low cost and appropriate
ideas to help people to help themselves.
The UK-based charity has more than 40
years' experience of working towards reducing
poverty worldwide; its ethos is the right idea
– however small – can change lives, create
job and improve health and livelihoods.
The tools to reduce poverty may be simple
or sophisticated but to provide long-term,
practical answers they must be firmly in the
hands of local people.
The problem
Peru has seen temperatures plunge in recent
years; during winters communities face the
fraije – a new phenomenon of intense cold
– never before seen in the country. The last
time it hit, more than 50 children died,
13,000 people suffered hypothermia and more
than10,000 alpacas perished.
Many communities rely on their alpacas for
vital wool and milk, but harsh winters have led
to thousands of their animals dying and crops
failing. This led to lifelines for many Peruvian
communities being severed, as their means
of transporting goods and earning a living
disappeared.
The loss of the alpacas had a devastating
effect on communities as the animals provide
nutrient packed milk and cheese, while
They have little enough to begin with so
even small amounts of assistance can bring
about enormous improvements in the lives
of the indiginous alpaca breeders of Peru.
Jane Eason, of the charity, Practical Action,
reports on their recent successful initiatives
designed to bring about change.
their insulating fibre is used for clothes and
bedding which provides an invaluable income.
Alpaca manure is also essential as the manure
provides fuel to help keep people warm and
also as biofuel for cooking.
The only way to transport the little
goods they had was to trek for miles across
mountainous terrain to the nearest market.
It also became harder and harder to get vital
medicines and food into villages, which meant
prices soared making survival even more
precarious.
Sadly, isolated villages and rural
communities are often forgotten about,
receiving little or no government help making
recovery more and more difficult.
The solution
Alpacas are part and parcel of Peru's
traditional way of life and looked upon as an
essential part of community life, therefore
Practical Action's project work is designed to
uphold these traditions, while improving ways
alpacas are looked after and nurtured.
A training scheme for farmers – known as
Kamayoqs – is now up and running. Training on
how to care for their animals, irrigation, general
health, avoiding landslides and how to build
shelters are just some of the issues covered. The
58 Alpaca World Magazine Winter 2007 / 08