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Lightfoot Farms, Kennebunk, Maine How did we become interested in Alpacas? A simple newspaper story brought our attention to these special creatures. We visited an Alpaca farm in the next town to ours and fell in love with these animals. From that moment, Walter and Doris Van Buskirk began to formulate a different plan for their future. In a previous life, Walter earned a Ph. D. in Microbiology and taught for a number of years at a college in Boston. He also maintains a license as a Registered Pharmacist. Doris stayed home for a number of years to bring up their two children (now grown) and then joined Walter in their printing business, which operated until 2000. Previously Doris had been a clinical laboratory technician. In 1999, we moved to Kennebunk, Maine (just 2.5 miles west of Maine Turnpike) with our herd of Alpacas, which had been agisted since 1997. We purchased extensive equipment and began running a mill to process the beautiful fiber from our Alpacas. It was quite a learning experience and certainly well worth our time. We became expert in all aspects of quality alpaca fiber. 
These animals are bred for their fiber. It is difficult to differentiate Alpaca fiber from
cashmere in many instances. Alpaca comes in 22 natural colors that can be mixed to yield
an infinite number of colors. This makes it ideal for dye sensitive individuals. In fact,
many people who wear alpaca cannot wear other wools.Alpacas are indeed wonderful creatures as well as lovable and very interesting. They are quite easy to keep. Almost daily, we learn something new about them. We can relate many stories about the nurturing mothers and how "typical" little boys and girls can be. We enjoy our life with the Alpacas and no longer talk about “TGIF” as every day is fun. We maintain a herd numbering thirty to fifty Huacaya Alpacas and have learned a great deal about Alpacas in the last eight years. Breeding Alpacas is something we expect to continue for many years as it is rewarding both financially and spiritually. |
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