Jenny Brundage had never heard of alpacas until 2005, when she attended a cat show at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in California. She and a friend were exploring the rest of the fair when she spotted something unusual in one
Jenny Brundage had never heard of alpacas until 2005, when she attended a cat show at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in California. She and a friend were exploring the rest of the fair when she spotted something unusual in one of the tents.
What is that, she thought. What are those funny-looking, long-necked creatures?
Today, Brundage has 12 of the funny-looking long-necked creatures living on her 5-acre farm in Ahualoa, where they share space with the Maremma sheepdogs Brundage and her husband raise, as well as a handful of chickens and sheep.
Alpacas are medium-sized livestock in the camel family that are closely related to llamas. First bred by the Inca for their soft, strong fleece, they were mostly unknown in the United States until the 1980s, when imports from Peru began.
Unlike sheep wool, alpaca fleece does not have lanolin, making it hypoallergenic. It is finer than most types of wool, and when spun has a shine that is prized by knitters.
The Brundages moved to the Big Island from Oahu, and knew they wanted to keep their land in agricultural use when they arrived.
“We didn’t want to have the token goat,” said Brundage. Cattle were deemed too big to handle. Dairy goats were considered, but that raised the issue of having too many male goats, and having to send them to slaughter.
The animals also had to be low-maintenance: Brundage was until recently a full-time veterinarian (she is now a relief vet, filling in for others when they are sick or traveling).
Brundage thought back to the alpaca she had seen in California years before, and decided they might fit the bill on all counts.
In a twist, her parents in Ohio had recently purchased alpaca to start a farm of their own. Brundage, who majored in genetics in college, bought four alpaca from South Carolina, then bred the females to Ohio alpaca to mix up the genes.
In 2008, a herd of six alpacas and one baby came to Hawaii Island. They were on the same flight as a new mirror for the France-Hawaii telescope.
“We have grown and shrunk, and grown and shrunk,” Brundage said.
At first, there were nutritional issues to cope with: the alpaca were anemic because of mineral deficiencies in the soil. But over time, they did well on a steady diet of the local grasses supplemented by hay and grain.
On a recently cloudy morning in Ahualoa, the only sound coming from the alpaca pastures was that of the animals munching grass. Occasionally, one made a small humming sound.
“I love that they’re so quiet,” Brundage said.
There are a handful of other alpaca owners on the island, who work together as a hui.
The hui also includes Gayle Marquess and Christine Hustace. The women share tips about breeding and business, and share alpaca studs between their farms.
“This is a common woman-owned business,” Brundage said. That’s partially because alpacas are easy for one person to handle.
“They’re my size,” Brundage said.
Once a year, the Ahualoa herd gets shorn, with each animal producing 3-4 pounds of top-quality fleece for yarn. Lower-quality fleece can be used for felting.
The fleece is then sent to a mainland mill (there are no mills in the state) to be spun into yarn skeins. Alpaca come in about 20 natural colors—varying shades of white, black, brown, and gray.
The guest bedroom of the Brundage house is full of large bags containing the soft fleece.
A stand off to one side holds skeins of yarn to be sold at the Parker School farmers market and, during the holiday season, craft fairs.
Some skeins are natural, while others are dyed in bright colors. Brundage learned to dye the fleece herself and handles all of the yarn coloring.
“A lot of people say it’s too hot to knit here, and in Kona, I’d agree,” Brundage said. But in Kohala, the cooler temperatures make knitting a bit more reasonable.
Still, visitors make up about two-thirds of Brundage’s business. Most of Brundage’s skeins are in the $20 range. Even on the mainland, alpaca yarn is more expensive than yarn made from sheep wool.
Many people appreciate the locally-grown aspect of the alpaca products, Brundage said.
“The Big Island is very different from Oahu as far as real appreciation for totally local products goes,” she said.
At markets and fairs on the Big Island, she said, people will ask her not only whether her products are local, but exactly how far away the animals live from the market (they are 20 minutes east of the Parker School space).
Over the past nine months, business at the markets and fairs has jumped considerably.
“It’s growing to the point where I have to buy fleece from my parents,” Brundage said. “We’re trying to keep up with growth, but carefully.”
She’s also noticed more interest in the market for the alpaca themselves.
“Things have been quiet, and then over the last few months I get a call a week asking about them,” she said. “I think it’s a good economic indicator.”
And the small alpaca farm can expect more growth in the month ahead: one pregnant female is due in two weeks.
Email Ivy Ashe at iashe@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
