Our Tiaki Promise

As sustainable farmers here at Shamarra Alpacas, we’re conscious of our impact on Aotearoa and endeavour to care for it. With every cria born and every visitor on site, we uphold the Tiaki promise.

The Tiaki Promise is a wero (challenge or commitment) to respect and protect New Zealand and its natural beauty and resources. We’re very lucky to be positioned in beautiful Akaroa, with an idyllic spot overlooking the harbour. To look after our little patch, and to contribute to the care of Aotearoa as a whole, we follow deeply-ingrained sustainable farming and tour operator practices, and the cultural stories behind alpaca rearing is also a significant nod to our Tiaki promise.

Alpaca impact on the land

• Goats and sheep have hooves which can cause land degradation. Alpaca, on the other hand, have padded feet that are gentle and don’t harm the earth by reducing pugging, keeping it productive, safe and beautiful.
• When alpaca graze, they do not pull plants, reducing damage or destroy root systems, so land is left undamaged and plants continue growing after an alpaca has eaten it.
• Alpaca dung is recycled as fertiliser, creating a sustainable cycle and relationship with the earth.
• Alpaca are easily managed and bond well with their human carers, meaning minimal chance for harm to these precious creatures.

Alpaca fleece & its production

Alpaca fleece or wool production is a detailed process and we make sure that ours is environmentally-friendly at every step along the way.

For a start, fleece doesn’t produce lanolin (like sheep wool for example) which needs to be removed before the wool can be produced.

We do not use any shrinkproofing chemical treatments (so no chlorine solutions or polymide resins) on our alpaca.  This means that less water and energy is required to prep the fleece for yarn production, connecting well to the Māori concept of kaitiakitanga, the guardianship of New Zealand’s land, sea and sky.

All our alpaca is naturally coloured which means we do not use any chemical dyes, saving precious water and energy resources.

You can learn a little more about sustainable yarns in this handy blog from one of our peers in the world of wool & fleece!

Here are the key reasons why luxurious alpaca wool production, and the knitwear it creates, helps Shamarra Alpacas fulfil our Tiaki promise:

• Alpaca does not contribute to microplastic pollution.
• Approximately 50% of the weight of alpaca (fleece) is biogenic carbon, which means it is organic carbon that has been consumed by the alpaca in the form of grass and plants and only releases it back into the soil when it breaks down at the end of the garments life.
• Because alpaca is naturally odour resistant and somewhat stain resistant, it doesn’t require frequent washing.
• We don’t add any chemical-based dyes to our products; all Shamarra Alpaca Knitwear is proudly made from the naturally-coloured fibre of the yarn, and no dye means no water wastage, too!
• Alpaca fleece and subsequent knitwear is completely biodegradable. It breaks down naturally leaving only organic matter at the end of its life.
• Alpaca is considered a more sustainable fibre than most, often recommended over wool and even cashmere (and we’d argue that it feels better, as well!).
• Alpaca is sourced from our herd, other New Zealand alpaca farms and farms in Australia (with shipping by container from Melbourne to Lyttleton). This locally-sourced approach means little shipping pollution.
• All knitwear production is in New Zealand, eliminating the need to transport washed fleece, yarn or garments from overseas production facilities from and back to New Zealand. This means that our carbon footprint is significantly reduced.