Welcome to Serena Alpacas’ Luxury Duvets
The story really starts with Peter-John, first encountering alpacas in 2003, he was captured by their beauty, serenity and the warmth they radiated. An instant connection was formed and a long journey began.
From making alpaca yarn for a period and progressing to a luxurious crafted duvet range, filled with their exquisite and unique fleece.
Serena Alpacas’ Luxury Duvets are created through a conscious process by using eco-friendly, sustainable and ethical techniques that genuinely care for the land, alpacas and the team.
The journey of your Serena Alpacas’ Luxury Duvet started in the rolling hills of the Midlands, and ends in your home with a peaceful nights sleep.
What people have to say
“This is really a great product. We have had ours for nearly five years and it has shown no signs of wear.”
– Roger Dell
Our Alpacas - Alpacas to Duvets
Take a few minutes to watch the video and meet the alpacas that produced the fibre for all the duvets …
If you aren’t familiar with these beautiful creatures, alpacas are animals revered as having a certain majestic presence. Our herd comprised of a breed called ‘Huacaya’, which translated from Quecha means ‘sacred soul.’ Not at all surprising for an animal famed for having a captivating and calming effect on all who meet them.
Beyond their personalities, alpacas are special for the nature of their fleece. Having originated from South America, high up in the mountainous Andes, alpacas naturally developed a fleece that kept them comfortable in extreme temperatures; from 25°C in the day to -20°C during the night. Within each fibre of the fleece is a microscopic air pocket that enhances insulation, adds to the beautifully soft texture of the fleece and keeps the fibre light in weight.
For thousands of years the Andean people have lovingly fashioned this special fleece into clothing and blankets and it has been traditionally considered both a symbol of status and a prized item for trading. The finest grades of alpaca fleece were reserved for use by nobility and were a sign of sheer prosperity and abundance. Understandably, many refer to this luxury fibre as the ‘fibre of the Gods’ and it is for this reason that we craft our duvets from alpaca fibre, celebrating its warmth, luxury, softness and light weight by encasing it in pure cotton for a peaceful night sleep every night of the year.
We really do love alpacas and ensure each alpaca is cared for and nurtured to the best of our ability. Males are carefully selected based on the characteristics of their fibre so that a new generation of alpacas is birthed with longer, softer and more uniform fleece. Even more than that, we know that happy alpacas make for the most luxurious of fleece which is why they are treated with the utmost respect, free to roam and live natural lives on the pastures.
Alpaca or Llama
Llamas and alpacas are closely related species, but there are quite a few features that distinguish a Llama from an Alpaca. Alpacas have short spear-shaped ears while llamas have much longer, banana-shaped ears. A Llama is taller, heavier and has a longer face than an alpaca. Llamas also generally do not have as much hair on their head and face as alpacas do. Alpacas are herd animals and communicate with the others in the herd by humming, while llamas are more independent minded.
Our Farm
We chose our home in Kwa-Zulu Natal’s Midlands for its cold winter temperatures and, of course, its magnificent landscapes. It is important that we treat our land as well as we do our alpacas. So we follow natural and holistic practices when it comes to looking after our land as we believe Mother Nature knows best! That means our nutritious grass fields are naturally irrigated, pastures rotated and allowed time to rested. We use permaculture techniques in order that we maintain a nutrient rich soil that is free from harmful chemicals.
In the winter we supplement our beautiful Kukuya grass with alternative vitamins and minerals found in nature. We pay extra attention to our pregnant alpaca moms and their babies to ensure they are as healthy as possible.
Our excellent team of caregivers treat our sick or injured alpacas using natural elixirs that include garlic, ginger, diatoms and apple cider vinegar among other health restoring ingredients found in nature’s larder. We even make our own colloidal silver water, historically known for its use in treating a whole host of ailments.
Whatever the challenge, we believe that nature knows best and so we gently listen, knowing that happy alpacas make a soft quality fleece that will keep you warm and snug.
Why Alpaca hair and not Llama hair?
The alpaca produces a much finer hair fibre than the llama. Alpacas also produce more fleece than its larger cousin and in a much greater variety of colours. Alpaca hair is hypoallergenic, which means people won’t get allergies from it and sneeze and itch. Even better, alpaca hair is flame-resistant and water-resistant.
The Mill
It is here, at the mill, where the magic happens and the beautiful alpaca fleece is taken through a careful process that results in a lovingly made, luxury duvet. The same love and nature-led methods that we apply to the land and the alpacas doesn’t stop at the mill door but continues through our eco-friendly process of producing your Serena Alpacas’ Luxury Duvet.
That means that no toxic waste is produced during the making of our duvets. We only use natural, biodegradable cleaning solutions to wash and prepare the precious alpaca fibres, and it is this environmentally conscious approach that means we can proudly say our fleece maintains its natural, hypoallergenic properties.
More technically, we have designed a wash system that reduces wash water consumption by 84%. The hot water we use to thoroughly wash our fleece is heated to 80°C by four large solar power geysers; dramatically reducing our energy costs, thus helping the environment.
After the fleece has been carefully dried on one of our racks it passes through the ‘Lulubelle Carding Machine,’ turning the fleece into a soft, fluffy, ‘cotton wool’ like texture while removing any grit and vegetation that got caught up in the fibre. At the duvet filler station the fleece is laid between the first layers of fabric and enclosed with our unique pocketing design. Next, the pure cotton fabric layers are draped over the base layer, our logo is precisely stitched onto the fabric and the edges are neatly bound.
The final stage of the process at the mill sees the finished duvet guided through a quality control check before being Serena stamped and approved, beautifully packaged and sent off to its new, happy owner, set to provide them with a lifetime of luxury, peaceful sleeps.
Fun Facts about Alpacas
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Our Caregivers And Makers
Masiu Makutwane
Masiu is the foreman on the farm. Having grown up herding goats and cattle, Masiu is acutely aware of animal needs. Because of this it is Masiu’s job to vet the animals, administering holistic medicines as well as overseeing the general wellbeing of the farm. He knows each and every alpaca. He knows who the mother and father are and calls then by name, using a unique whistle to herd them when they are far away. Not only that but Masiu is able to distinguish between our alpaca’s moods and ailments through the sounds they make – That is why Masiu is our alpaca whisperer.
S’Dutu Mthembu
S’Dutu has been a natural mother to our alpacas since 2007. She bottle feeds orphaned babies, tends the veggie garden and maintains the farm fences alongside being an invaluable part of the Serena family by assisting with the day to day running of the farm and all that a 220 strong alpaca herd demands.
Sibusiso Matli
Sibusiso named himself ‘Black Leopard’ on the farm and started working with our alpacas in 2004. He is now the foreman’s understudy, involved in key decision making and in ensuring the overall upkeep of the farm. Sibusiso knows our alpacas well. If there is a baby on the farm, it is likely that it has felt the warmth of Sibusiso’s hands as it is his job to lift and weigh each animal in his arms.
Thabo Shabalala
Thabo began working with the Serena family in 2006. She works in the mill, sorting, washing and processing our beloved alpaca fibres into fluffy duvets. With Thabo assisting the mill team in all of its daily tasks you can be sure that your duvet has passed over her warm touch. Thabo also has the important job of checking that our quality control measures are adhered to in the finishing room before packaging the duvet, making it ready to be shipped off and loved in its new home.
Nomkhosi Matli
Nomkhosi has been working on the farm and with our alpacas since 2015. Over in the mill, Nomkhosi manages the precision stitching and helps her team with the daily tasks a busy mill demands. In the finishing room at the mill it is Nomkhosi’s job to maintain the high standard of each of our luxury duvets through detailed and careful stitching.
Roger Dell
Roger is our well loved mill manager. He is in charge of overseeing all processes, from when the mill receives the raw fibre to the point where our duvets are ready for the finishing room. Being an electronics technician, Roger is able to maintain and tweak our precision machines, ensuring no damage to our fibres as well as a meticulous finish on every duvet that leaves our mill before heading to its new home.