Prototype of a semi-automatic spinning line for the standardization of alpaca fiber yarn to improve the competitiveness of the artisanal producer in the Andean region - Puno

In the first half of 2018 Peru has exported 103 million in alpaca products, which represented an increase of 48.8% compared to 2017, with alpaca fiber being the largest export product. The main problem of artisanal producers is the low competitiveness of the production chain as a result of the low capacity to transform the fiber into tops, thread or garments, limiting the exportable supply due to the difficulty of accessing increasingly demanding markets in quality and price, all this as a result of the lack of formal training and knowledge of fiber mixing techniques, lack of constant supply of dyed fibers and yarns, which prevents the incorporation of spinning processes with improved technology, causing low quality of the products with valued, irregularity of the thread caused by the high incidence of spinners' manual works and the lack of specialized machinery due to the low investment in the alpaca fiber sector. The 2017-2021 Livestock Plan of the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation reports that in the productive chain the activities around Alpaca is the main economic activity of the productive chain in Puno. The breeders sell the fiber to intermediaries at reduced prices per kilo of fiber and negotiate with the industry at local fairs and fiber importers. The project proposes to improve the productivity of artisanal producers by improving their capacity in the production of standardized alpaca defibra yarn through the design and development and prototyping of a semi-automatic spinning line.