en.Wedoany.com Reported - Peru's Ministry of Agricultural Development and Irrigation (MIDAGRI), through its subsidiary Rural Agricultural Productive Development Program (AGRO RURAL), has inaugurated and delivered a modern hand-spinning center in the Ocongate District of the Cusco Region, aiming to promote the primary transformation of local alpaca fiber into hand-spun yarn and felt, and to enhance the production capacity of over 250 alpaca farming families.
The construction of the center was handled by the local government of the Ocongate District for the infrastructure component, while AGRO RURAL equipped it with specialized machinery such as openers, centrifuges, and spinning machines to optimize the alpaca fiber processing workflow. Gudberto Carrera Padilla, Executive Director of AGRO RURAL, stated that this initiative is part of the public investment project "Improving Primary Value-Added Services for Alpaca Fiber from Alpaca Breeders in the Regions of Arequipa, Puno, Cusco, and Pasco," and that the equipment in the processing plant is easy for beneficiaries to use and maintain. The project involved a total co-financing of 456,239.76 soles.
To ensure the sustainable operation of the hand-spinning center, plans include providing specialized technical assistance and workshops to beneficiary producers, guiding them in the correct use of equipment during various process stages such as grading, beating, opening, washing, centrifuging, drying, and carding, to create added value for alpaca fiber. Additionally, skills training for shearing masters and female graders will be conducted, along with training in management and production development, to promote the production of high-quality hand-spun yarn and felt with market potential.
José Apaza Condori, President of the Las Pariguanas de Accocunca Alpaca Breeders Association from Accocunca in the Quispicanchi Province of Cusco, stated that after receiving support from AGRO RURAL and the Ocongate District Government, the association successfully achieved the transformation and value-added sale of alpaca fiber. Previously, due to a lack of resources, they could only sell raw wool, resulting in limited income. Apaza Condori started with 15 alpacas and has now bred over 100.
The project "Improving Primary Value-Added Services for Alpaca Fiber from Alpaca Breeders in the Regions of Arequipa, Puno, Cusco, and Pasco" has invested over 24 million soles since 2023 and will conclude in 2027. To date, the project has renovated and built 22 shearing centers and 22 hand-spinning centers, and provided 24,000 technical assistance sessions, benefiting approximately 8,000 alpaca breeders across the four regions.
In the coming weeks, AGRO RURAL will also inaugurate three more hand-spinning centers in the same region: in the Lacto community (Cusipata District), the Chua Chua community (Paucartambo District), and the Phinaya community (Pitumarca District).
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