Cadbury Alpacas is committed to impeccable animal welfare standards, breeding much loved, high quality fibre camelids to produce environmentally friendly, sustainable, luxurious textiles. Cadbury Alpacas is pioneering a pathway towards a sustainable textile industry in the UK through regenerative farming practices.
The private alpaca farm is situated at the foot of the Iron Age hill fort Cadbury Camp in North Somerset. Cadbury Camp is named from the Anglo Saxon word “Cada’s byrig” meaning “town” so if you were Anglo Saxon you might think we had a small “town of alpacas”. Unfortunately they have absolutely nothing to do with chocolate!
Cadbury Alpacas is owned and run by Charlotte Brockwell. With over 13 years of keeping camelids, her life revolves around the farm and beloved alpacas, and her vision to establish a sustainable ethical textile industry in the UK.
She is an elected board member for the British Alpaca Society which is a voluntary role. As well as being involved in general BAS decision making she is responsible for their social media and chairs the BAS alpaca fibre working group.
A BAS affiliated trainer since 2022, she has completed courses in alpaca assessment and camelid parasitology, and trained in camelidynamics with US founder Marty McGee Bennet.
For the last 8 years she has been working alongside colleges and universities to train and teach students in animal management and alpaca veterinary medicine.
…“Cadbury Alpacas started in 2012 when we bought 3 female yearling alpacas (Molly, Daisy and Sorrell) for our small paddock as family-friendly pets and fluffy lawnmowers rolled into one. That was it …we were completely hooked!
When the females were old enough we bred from them and had our first baby alpacas, which are known as cria. For over 10 years now Cadbury Alpacas farm have been selectively breeding our alpacas on a small scale with the aim of increasing the quality of their fibre and the health of our alpaca herd. We keep and breed both types of alpaca. Firstly the huacaya alpaca, whose fibre grows in a tight wave, sitting vertically off the skin giving it the renowned ‘teddy-bear’ look, comparable to cashmere in softness. Also the much rarer suri alpaca, whose fibre grows out from the skin in twisted locks without crimping, at best akin to silk in lustre and texture.
During the time that our herd has been growing, so has the opportunity for us to ‘farm without harm’. These beautiful, sensitive and intelligent fibre producing animals can produce an increasingly sought after fibre product year upon year without the need to slaughter or harm them. With an average lifespan of 15 – 20 years this means that our alpacas can provide us with their fleece in a way that is both sustainable in the long term and cruelty free. All our alpacas have a name and a unique personality and you can see photos and read about each member of our herd.
Alpacas were one of the first animals domesticated by man around 6000 years ago in South America, alongside their other camelid cousin the llama. Bred from the wild vicuna which are protected today, alpacas were domesticated predominantly for their fibre, whilst llamas were bred from the guanaco for use as pack (carrying) animals. Alpacas are prey animals and you really have to earn their trust! It’s so much fun seeing them overcome their instincts to flee because they cannot help their natural curiosity or hungry bellies! When they bend over to sniff you on the nose (yes, that’s an alpaca ‘kiss’), it really is a heart-warming moment!”
If you’d like to learn more about alpacas and meet some of our herd, book an alpaca experience.
Why not follow Cadbury Alpaca farm on social media for updates on alpaca farming life, births and all the dramas! Click on these links to find out more;
The demand for high-quality alpaca fibre now outweighs the volume farmed in the UK and many British manufacturers still import yarn from Peru, and British alpaca bedding is still a speciality product. We love to produce as many locally made goods from our alpaca fleece as we can. We use British mini mills to process our alpaca fleece into yarn, local crafters to knit, felt and crochet products for us and we supply fleece for our luxurious bedding, pet bedding and even our unique alpaca keratin soaps! Take a look at our alpaca products.
Our only exception to this rule is with our fur products. There is a high natural alpaca mortality rate in Peru where traditional methods of farming on the high plateaus in the Andes means poor access to veterinary care, field shelters and cria coats. Alpacas are far too valuable to kill for their fur, although it is probably the softest thing you will ever feel. We buy our fur products from Peru to support the small indigenous farmers, especially in harsh winters when sadly tens of thousands of animals can be lost due to severe cold snaps.
In the West we are just beginning to discover for ourselves the incredible benefits of this most sought after fibre and a new rural industry of farming alpacas in Britain is slowly emerging, and we are delighted to be part of it.
We are dedicated to the welfare of our alpacas and to expanding the awareness of them and the products that can be made from their fleece. Our challenge is always to bring the fineness of the fleece of our animals we breed back to that of their wild ancestors the vicuna, yet with the density and lustre closer to the pure alpacas farmed by the ancient Incas.
