ABOUT THE FILM
A well-spun, evocative visual celebration of guanacos, descendants of llamas, on Whidbey Island. Follow the process of shearing the guanacos and preparing the second finest fiber in the world for use by creative hands. The film shows the process throughout the rhythms of a passing year.
Greg and Lisa, fiber farmers and land stewards committed to making beautiful things and making a beautiful life. They run Aliento Luxury Fiber Farm where the guanacos live. They state: “We live with nature. We raise animals for their fiber. We grow and create things. And we write and tell stories about the discoveries we make along the way. Our life is handcrafted...from the beginning, with every fiber of our being.”
“Caring for a small herd of guanaco is not for the faint of heart because they are large animals who have not lost their wild nature to domestic breeding. They look similar to their descendants, the llama, but are more deer-like in their face and legs. We were naive to their wildness when we acquired them in 2017 from a larger herd that had been a zoo dispersement. Since that time, we’ve learned to handle them a bit and have worked to gain their trust and respect. These animals are central to our lives here on the farm. The twice-daily care we give them has challenged us to be more patient, braver, and more in touch with ourselves and each other.”
ABOUT THE FARM
WE ARE GREG AND LISA, FIBER FARMERS AND LAND STEWARDS COMMITTED TO MAKING BEAUTIFUL THINGS AND MAKING A BEAUTIFUL LIFE.
We live with nature. We raise animals for their fiber. We grow and create things. And we write and tell stories about the discoveries we make along the way.
OUR LIFE IS HANDCRAFTED... FROM THE BEGINNING, WITH EVERY FIBER OF OUR BEING.
But it hasn’t always been this way.
Have you ever had the impulse to change everything about your life and do something completely different? We did.
IN OUR FORMER LIFE, WE COULDN’T BREATHE.
The Sacramento air was killing Greg. His asthma had gotten so bad that he was short of breath all of the time.
Lisa’s business was thriving but had swallowed her up. She was choking for air, too.
While we knew this at some level, we weren’t entirely aware of how bad it had become. In some ways, we were like frogs in a pot of water on the stove. We had tolerated and adjusted for decades. We raised three kids. We worked very hard. We made a decent life. And yet we didn’t know what was missing. We didn’t know how hot the water in the pot had become. We didn’t know how little air we had left.
(from https://afiberlife.com )
CREDITS
Monty Hunter
Director
Lisa Mitchell
Key Cast