Alpacas prove Christmas gift hit

Volunteer Andrew Lean in Oxfam's Morningside shop in Edinburgh

More than 1,000 alpacas have been bought by Scots seeking to give a gift with a difference this year.

The animals are part of Oxfam's Unwrapped campaign to help farmers in poverty across the globe.

Oxfam in Scotland said that more than 100,000 trees had also been bought north of the border - enought to create an entire forest.

The charity thanked customers for buying gifts which could improve the lives of others.

Alpaca wool is warmer than sheep's and much lighter and the meat is a valuable source of protein.

'Lifeline gift'

Their docile nature makes them easy to domesticate and they have been farmed by indigenous people of the Andean highlands in Peru, Bolivia and northern Chile for centuries.

Other big sellers from the Oxfam Unwrapped project have been school textbooks, school desks and chairs.

There is good demand for alpaca wool as a luxury product

Tom Richardson, operations manager for Oxfam shops in Scotland, said: "My work with Oxfam has taken me throughout Scotland and I know how generous the Scottish public are.

"Shop managers have told me that one of the reasons that Unwrapped has proved so popular is that as well as helping people in the developing world it also solves the problem of giving a present to a relative or friend who have everything.

"The wool from alpacas is highly valued and by buying them for farmers in places like Peru the Scottish public are giving them a chance to earn a decent living and work their way out of poverty."

Judith Robertson, head of Oxfam in Scotland, said she was particularly pleased that schoolbooks and equipment were selling so well.

"Oxfam has been campaigning on education in developing countries, especially the plight of the 100 million children who do not currently get an education," she added.

The Right Reverend Alan McDonald, moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, said that giving a "virtual" gift that helps others is an appropriate way to celebrate Christmas.

"I am heartened that this year more and more people in this country seem to be saying 'enough is enough', deciding to opt out of the seasonal rat race and giving virtual presents instead.

"I am convinced that giving a goat this Christmas is a much more appropriate way to mark the birth of the child in the manger than by buying an expensive present that nobody needs."