Feel Warmer This Winter with SOL ALPACA Products & Enter To Win $100 Gift Card #FeelWarmer #SolAlpaca

Disclosure: I may have received compensation and or product to help facilitate this post as a member of the Mom It Forward Blogger Network. Regardless, all opinions are 100% my own.

Do you love the feel and comfort of soft sweaters, scarves, mittens and more during the colder months? Sol Alpaca wants to help you make these days feel warmer with comfortable, stylish and all natural wears made from 100% Alpaca hair.

SOL ALPACA products are exclusively made in Peru. Peru is a country with an old, ancient textile tradition and SOL ALPACA is their principal heir.It keeps their tradition alive. This operation enables you to obtain the warmth and comfort of the Andean people as you receive something that is created with great pride, care and much love. The Andean’s work and live in the harmonious setting of nature and is why they work with one of the finest fibers in the Andes, Alpaca. They can create and design 32 natural shades of the Alpaca and create unique designs and modern styles.

ALPACA CHARACTERISTICS

Alpaca became the heart of the Andes and is one of their most cherished denizens. Such lush, generous nature is the reason Alpacas thrive and gives the Andean’s the ability to fashion and create using the Alpaca’s fine coating. The fibres of the Alpaca coat are so endowed, it enables them to live at the high, cold altitudes of the Andes Mountains and resit the harsh, cold temperatures.

The Alpaca has been appreciated throughout history, dating back to the Incas. It is known today for the beauty and perfection of their fibre as it is completely soft and silky, light weight, 100% natural and holds unique, thermal properties allowing heat to circulate during warm days and then retains heat on cold days. Another great feature is that Alpaca hair is sustainable, renewable and biodegradable.
Alpaca hair is produced in 32 natural shades and gives the designers creative freedom to fashion dozens of styles. SOL ALPACA knows that the best tribute to the Andean tradition is to keep people warm with the best raw material of the Andes, the Alpaca.  This is why, with a view to the genetic improvement of the Alpaca, a breeding centre has been functioning since the early 1980s near to Lake Titicaca, the lake from which Manco Cápac emerged to found another legend – the Inca Empire.

SHEARING AND SPINNING ALPACA FIBRES

Once every year, the Alpaca are shorn. The fibre is so soft that it must be separated and sorted by hand to ensure extreme care to the fibres. This has become a ritual that has been handed down and carried out amongst the Andean people for centuries.

ONLY EXPERT HANDS CAN IDENTIFY THE BEST FIBRE

Because of the delicate nature of the fibres, certain stages of processing are carried out by hand; all Alpaca fibre is classified manually.  Fleeces are sorted by fibre fineness, length and color.  The skills and techniques of the women who do this job are the product of ancient inherited knowledge. No machines or technology can replace this process or the women who work hard to ensure high quality.

WHERE TECHNOLOGY COMES IN

Adding to the ancient and fine tradition of hand-sorting the fibres, SOL ALPACA adds state-of-the-art technology to make the yarn. The most sophisticated machinery available carries out the spinning process to the highest standards and ensures the transformation of top-quality fibre into the softest yarn. This is the origin of a process which achieves the perfect combination of an ancient culture’s wisdom with modern technology.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

‘To give warmth is to receive warmth.”  This is the philosophy of those who have devoted their entire lives to keeping others warm, and is that which SOL ALPACA seeks to transmit through each one of their garments.  You should know that their background includes unique stories that have unfolded when attempting to reciprocate the warmth tney receive from the Andean communities.

MIRASOL, THE SCHOOL INSPIRED BY MARISOL

One of these is the story of Mirasol, a project inspired by Marisol, a delightful little girl who lived in an isolated part of Puno – one of the poorest and coldest parts of Peru – and who had to walk for three or four hours to get to school.  Kari Hestnes and Per Svendse, a Norwegian couple who met her in 2005, decided to set up a boarding school so that girls and boys in the district would not have to walk long distances to school.

From the beginning, SOL ALPACA, a brand of the Michell Group, joined the initiative which led to the creation of the first boarding school in the area in 2007.  After a prolonged joint effort with other firms, it has been functioning since 2009 as a primary school enabling more children to receive an education and the chance to progress in life.

An incredible collection of yarns called Mirasol was also created to provide support for those schoolchildren and their families whose livelihood is derived from the age-old tradition of providing warmth in the Andes.   If you wish to support Mirasol, please visit here for more information.

THE ART OF RECOVERING AN ANCIENT TRADITION

Another story is that of the Michell & Company National Painting Competition, which was first held in 1980 in support of talented Peruvian artists with insufficient funds. During its first thirty years, the competition was focused on promoting talented work using complex techniques such as watercolour and oils, opening a window to enable creditable artists to become known in a country which has much to show but little opportunity to do so.

After three decades during which it became one of the main national painting competitions, it was decided to give it a new focus. In view of the considerable artistic potential and talent of Peruvian weavers, the competition was opened to Peruvian textiles and was renamed the Michell & Company Art Competition.

This is the product of Peruvian talent that draws on the ancient textile tradition to generate contemporary works of art using ancient techniques handed down from Pre-Incan times. Find out about the competition here

I am absolutely in love with the soft, silky scarf that I received from SOL ALPACA. It is a wonderful, neutral color with a kiss of light blue and is perfect for the harsh winter ahead of us. Do you want try some of the lovely products available from SOL ALPACA? Be sure to visit the new SOL ALPACA online store and discover the warmth of the Andes in all its garments and accessories available.

Be sure to stay fully connected with Sol Alpaca

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***The Giveaway***

Sol Alpaca wants to help you make these days feel warmer. Enter below for your chance to win a $100 Sol Alpaca Gift Card.

Giveaway is open to US Only, ages 18+ years of age (limited to one entrant per household).

Giveaway ends on 11/23/15

Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The participating bloggers were not compensated for this post. We are not associated with any of the companies named above. No purchase is necessary to enter. Void where prohibited by law. The odds of winning are based on the number of entries received Open to US Residents, 18+ only. Limit one entrant per household. Confirmed Winner(s) (by Random.org) will be contacted by email. Winner(s) have 24 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. The sponsor(s) will be responsible for product shipment to winner(s) of this giveaway. My blog is not responsible for product shipment/delivery. This event is in no way administered, sponsored, or endorsed by, or associated with, Facebook and/or Twitter, Google, Pinterest, Instagram or Klout. This disclosure is done in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 10 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements. Entrants must only enter with either one email address, IP address and/or Facebook account, anyone found violating these rules will be disqualified. It is at the sole discretion of the admin of the giveaway if the winner has met the rules or not.