Snowmass Sales Agents Accoyo History
In Honor of Don Julio Barreda 1919 - 2006
Music: As a child of 13 years of age Don Julio Barreda helped his mother Dona Victona Aragon Barreda with her own herd of alpacas in the High Andes of Peru. During this young time he witnessed the art of breeding and fiber production first hand from the "Camayocc," or alpaca professionals that lived around him. Don Julio was the first of the "Camayocc" to introduce fencing. To others creating barriers for the alpaca in their vast open land seemed useless and time consuming. Don Julio believed that these fenced areas would support more animals by rotating pasture space. This concept quickly paid off when the mortality rate of spring crias was much lower. Each year his alpacas health and fertility levels steadily progressed to higher levels. That importation period only lasted a few short years and today there are less than 2000 FULL ACCOYO alpacas remaining of the approximately 100,000 plus, here today in the United States.
(Below) is an assortment of Spanish guitar music.
Please, click into your favorate artist as you read.
Don Julio as a Boy - 3 Amigo's:
At the time of his death in 2006, Don Julio carved a name for himself spanning some 60 years with his own elite herd of superior genetics known the world over. Don Julio’s herd practice was strange to those around him in the high Altiplano that climbs almost 17,000 feet to his ranch he calls Estancia ACCOYO meaning "sandy ground" near the town of Macusani in Peru.
Rock Corrals:
In addition to these benefits Don Julio quickly put an end to the open breeding of Suri and Huacaya. For the first time he was now creating a truly purebred herd of alpaca. Today his ACCOYO line is known for superior genetics from years of culling, leaving behind animals with only the finest of fleece quantity, fineness, elegance and perfect confirmation. When his alpacas reached their first year if they did not produce 6 pounds of fleece weight they were sold off. The second year they had to produce 10 pounds to remain in the ACCOYO herd.
Prior shearing: 
The finished product:
Sixty (60) plus years of this consistency was creating ELITE results. His entire herd of only 2500 animals compared to larger operations in Peru of 60,000 had a look no other "Camayocc" could produce or compete with. Each animal looked remarkably alike in almost every way having that trademark head, large square stature and thick fine fleece. 
Typical Accoyo head:
During the early days of importation those few breeders that knew of this amazing herd with superior genotype were lucky enough to purchase a small amount of quality females and stud males direct from the ACCOYO ranch for their own farms here in the United States.
Accoyo Herdsires in Peru:
The women of Accoyo:
Accoyo male keeping watch:
Accoyo male ready to show:
Moving Accoyo's to the rock corrals:
Don Julio showing Fineness and Crimp:
An artist drawing of (Shere Kahn). An alpaca owned by Don Julio who considered him to be the IDEAL ALPACA in every aspect.
Don Julio in his old Studebaker. Bullet holes in the door from the 1980"s remain. A time of fighting between civilians, Shining Path, Tupac Revoluntionary Movement and the Government of Peru. Estimates have it that over 70,000 Peruvians died during those years.
A typical town on the way to Accoyo Macasani:
A young Don Julio with a prized macho:
Mike Safley Northwest Alpacas (left): Don Julio (center) with daughter.
A sixty (60) year stewardship of his beloved Accoyo. Don Julio stands among his herd in 2005. A year later he passed on. Today Don Julio's Accoyo genetics are firmly planted in the United States, Australia and Canada to name a few. Breeders like us are the new stewards of Accoyo.
What we do with this genetic gift remains to be seen.
