Now this is what we do
When people come to visit Hilltop Farm one of the questions that is asked regularly is, what do you do with the fleece? Unfortunately we have done very little with ours. That answer then leads to; what is the point in having alpacas if you cannot gain something from them? That is a fair enough question especially if you are someone who wants to get into alpacas just to make a living.
In our case, our animals are now self-sustaining in that they don’t cost us anything to maintain. That might just sound absurd but it is true.
The problem with creating products in Ireland with alpaca fleece is that there are no woollen mills in this country. Britain has several well established mills but then the cost of transport over and back has to be taken into consideration and unless you have a large amount of animals, it’s not really cost effective. However, we are planning to create a product with some of our fleece that is not being created anywhere in Ireland at the moment. There will be more on this when we move into production…
But how is Hilltop Farm sustainable? It’s people who make it so. Every weekend and even on the occasional weekday evening we have visitors coming to see our alpacas. But it’s not just having a look; oh no, it is an alpaca farm experience. It starts by visiting the paddocks, meeting the docile animals and getting to rub down some of them, some of whom even go so far as to lie down at your feet while you caress the silky, cloud-like fleece on their backs and necks. When you have met them all, you may then bring some of them on a quiet stroll. Finally, the log cabin is available for light refreshments – tea/coffee/water and something light to eat while talking about anything and everything including alpacas. A new venture into visits has also commenced with a visiting equine school and, believe it or not, a hen party. Yes, a hen party who had book their visit well in advance. They stopped at Hilltop Farm on their way to their final destination. Both were fabulous successes.
We can almost guarantee that you will have a smile on your face and maybe even a light fluffy feeling within you as you leave Hilltop Farm Alpacas to go home.
Why not come to Hilltop Farm and experience the experience and similar to us, you might even want to embark on your own adventure into farming.
Until again
Alan and Catriona