Vicuña: the ancestral practice that also provides Argentina with the finest wool in the world

The vicuña It is a symbol of the Andean highlands in countries such as Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Argentina. And around this wild camelid, with a nice appearance, an ancestral tradition that the indigenous peoples began as a method of subsistence is preserved, adapted to the times: it is the chaku, the practice of shearing with which it is obtained, preserving the animal , the lana finest in the world.

Also known as chaccu, a Quechua word that means “capture of vicuñas”, this technique, originally from the Incas, consisted of surrounding, between several people like a human cordon, large areas to herd the animals to corrals and choose the suitable for obtaining meat or fiber. Later some were released.

“Originally it consisted of confinement and killing the animal, not all of them were released, only the youngest or pregnant females. However, we have rebuilt this practice, where we give it another value and significance, and we are moving towards sustainable use “, says Carlos Barrionuevo, provincial director of Biodiversity and Protected Natural Areas of Catamarca, the largest producer of vicuña fiber (wool) in Argentina.

From October to December, in various areas of northwestern Argentina, members of Andean cooperatives, communities of native peoples or companies, all duly registered, carry out a process with enormous tourist attraction that, centuries later, maintains its essence, but improving in technique and care. of the animal.

Teamwork

To prepare the shearing, the “capture modules” are used, corrals with open gates that are built around the meadows, lagoons or wetlands where vicuñas usually circulate.

To manage and lock them up, several people hold ropes with colored ribbons and the doors are closed. At the end of these tasks, which can last from one to three days, suitable animals are selected – females with advanced pregnancy or small calves are discarded – they are immobilized and put on a hood to reduce their stress and shearing begins.

“It is not completely sheared, but the portion that has the longest fiber, which is the one that grows every year. Once it is finished, they untie, the hood is removed and they are released ”, Barrionuevo details.

Days in which veterinarians look after the welfare of the animal and that, as part of the local culture, in some places may be accompanied by ceremonies venerating the Pachamama, symbol of mother earth, or the Coquena, a Quechua mythological being.

“The local people have been realizing that this was a great attraction for national and international tourists, especially in Laguna Blanca,” says the official from Catamarca in reference to that provincial biosphere reserve, which has one of the highest densities of vicuña.

Precious wool

In 2019, Catamarca registered a record of fiber obtained: 1,329 kilos from 3,740 shorn animals.

On average, according to Barrionuevo, from each vicuña -which weighs between 40 and 55 kilos and can measure up to 1.5 meters- about 350 or 400 grams are obtained, and, for example, to make a poncho -which can have an approximate value of 200,000 pesos (about US $ 2,000) – around 600 grams are used.

That of vicuñas is considered the finest fiber in the world and its value is around 450-500 euros per kilo in the international market.

In Catamarca, the provincial government retains 20% of the total fiber obtained and allocates it to a program whereby provincial artisans have access to it at cheaper, subsidized prices, which also makes it possible to fight against the sale of poachers.

Once the garments are made, they access a certification with the “Vicuña Catamarca” label.

This mammal, which inhabits the Andean heights of Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Ecuador, was on the verge of extinction due to the poaching started with the Spanish colonization and extended for centuries, but in the last decades the various legislations achieved its recovery.

The Catamarca vicuñas were considered threatened and their trade prohibited until 2002. It was then, once out of danger, that legal shearing was resumed, and today the sale of its fiber is possible, in a sustainable and controlled way.