There are many things people do when looking for a lifestyle change. For instance, maybe they’ll go out and cut their hair and try that bold new ‘do, or perhaps go out and buy that flashy car they’ve been eyeing. Some even take a leap of faith for a new job opportunity. All relatively normal things these days, but two decades ago, one Snohomish couple shocked their friends and family to the core when they decided to ditch the suburbs and start raising a herd of alpacas, leading to the creation of their now booming business, Alpacas from MaRS!
A Fleecy New Beginning in Snohomish
Meet Rebecca and Mark Suryan, the dynamic duo who made those close to them scratch their heads with their news to leave Lynnwood for Snohomish in 1998. It had only been a year earlier that they had encountered alpacas for the first time with their annual trek to the Puyallup Fair in 1997.
“Our families thought we lost it,” shares Rebecca who admits that gathering information on the fleecy creatures at the time wasn’t all that easy as the internet was still in its infancy. There weren’t many other alpaca herders around. “The only experience I had with farm animals was having ponies at my grandparent’s place while growing up,” she adds.
Still, despite the family’s probing questions and lack of experience, Rebecca and Mark sold the house, packed up the three kids, and headed out to Snohomish to live the farm life. “I think our friends definitely thought we were nuts,” reminisces Rebecca. “But our kids were on board, and the alpacas were just so enchanting that we weren’t to be swayed from our idea of a new life raising them.”
The Suryans Work to Create an Alpaca Farm That’s Out of This World
For Rebecca and Mark, it was love at first sight for these adorable creatures, but they knew the journey to create the ultimate alpaca farm would be tricky, so they quickly got to work on making the dream a reality. “We visited a few alpaca ranches that were in Eastern Washington to learn how others set up their alpaca shelters, pastures, and general care,” explains Rebecca, who, after a few visits with these farms, knew precisely where she wanted to go next.
Already she had a goal of owning at least five acres to make it work. The pair secured a home with just under six acres to start. Still, the acreage would need work as there were blackberries everywhere. This led to the family beginning their farm animal venture with some ponies so the kids could help with some brush clearing. After some TLC to the land, all that was next was to bring up the old pony barn from Rebecca’s grandparent’s place. “With a little bit of reconfiguration, we had our first barn!”
After the ponies, next came the chickens and a horse. So now that they had the little farmstead again, what about the alpacas? “We continued to add fencing and started to look for our first alpacas.”
Rebecca’s new friends in the area mentioned the 4-H, but unfortunately, the Snohomish 4-H didn’t have an alpaca program. “So we started one!” beamed Rebecca.
From there, their first alpacas made their way to the farm, starting with four gelded males gifted to them by two Western Washington alpaca farms for use in their pioneering efforts to get alpacas and get together through their new 4-H program. “After the four alpacas came to live with us, a goat also joined the herd,” added Rebecca.
Building a Herd of Fluffy Alpacas in Snohomish
And so began the next chapter of the Suryan family’s life. Rebecca took three months with the gelded male alpacas to make sure alpacas were the right animal, and she could already tell it was exactly the path she wanted to take. “I simply loved them, and I still do,” she shares.
The ensuing years were spent expanding the herd, starting in early February of 2000 with the purchase of their first bred female at a farm in Oregon that was a white Huacaya, or the fluffy kind, as Rebecca explains.
By the time 2003 rolled around, the family had already decided to get serious and go all in on their plan to build a herd of beautiful Huacaya alpacas after acquiring three females for breeding. Rebecca devoted all her spare time to learning as much as she could about these magnificent creatures during this period. Fun fact — alpacas come in 22 different colors and patterns!
“I spent time learning all I could about alpaca fleece and what to do with it,” shares Rebecca who learned to spin and make felt during that time, including regaining some of her knitting knowledge that her grandmother once shared.
What’s in a Name? The Origin of the Alpacas from MaRS Name
Now with the decision to get serious about their endeavors, all that was really needed was a name for the business. “I came in the door one evening, and my husband said, ‘How about Alpacas from Mars?'” remembers Rebecca when asked about the origin of the name. At first, she tried to figure out just how he came up with such a name and thought maybe it had something to do with how depending on who was looking, the alpacas can sometimes look a little alien after they’ve been sheared.
After giving her a moment to think about it, Mark explained the reasoning behind his sudden light bulb idea, “It’s our initials, Mark and Rebecca Surya.” Of course, Rebecca thought it was brilliant, but she teased. Since he came up with it, she simply said, “Well, that will work!”
The rest is history, as they say. “It’s certainly a name people remember, and we’ve had fun with it!”
Rebecca Introduces the Herd and All She’s Learned About Alpacas
The Suryans couldn’t help but have fun with the name from there. Not only was it unique to them as a couple, but it also allowed them to explain a Martian theme throughout the farm. “All of the crias born on MaRS get named after landforms on the Red Planet,” explains Rebecca. “We have craters, valleys. You name it! We’ve learned a lot about the planet Mars!”
Beyond the name, the Martian theme soon extended to the ranch’s logo: an alpaca piloting a flying saucer. Eventually, Marvin the Martian was guarding the property’s entrance, a gift from Rebecca’s sister. He’s easy to spot among guests visiting the Martian-themed alpacas, including names like Flurry’s Gale, Tarata, and Zulanka. And while Marvin is a pretty one-dimensional character across the board, the alpacas aren’t.
“Alpacas are like cats, and goats are like dogs,” jokes Rebecca, who explains that alpacas are curious but do things on their own terms, which could change depending on their mood. While some alpacas like attention, others simply don’t want anything to do with you.
Despite each unique personality, Rebecca was happy to share her tips on handling the fleecy creatures, “Alpacas do not like the top of their head touched and will quickly move away from you,” tells Rebecca, explaining that this was a predatory response and not a learned reaction.
Furthermore, there are two types of alpacas — Huacayas and Suris, with Huacayas being the fluffy ones and the Suris appearing to have dreadlocks. The Huacaya fleece is used for most of the knitwear, while Suri fleece drapes and is best for woven cloth. Also interesting to note, people that cannot wear sheep’s wool can wear alpaca as alpaca fleece does not have lanolin or grease. Rebecca is one of the lucky few people this applies to. “I am one of those people who can’t wear sheep’s wool because it makes my skin itch,” she explains. “Alpaca fleece doesn’t create the same reaction. I’m fine wearing it.”
Alpacas From MaRS Has Grown to a Herd of 40 Nearly Two Decades Later
Just as Rebecca’s knowledge of the creatures has continued to grow, so has the herd since the alpaca farm’s early days. “Our herd slowly grew for the next couple of years until we invested in additional breeding stock in 2003,” Rebecca adds that the herd has been as large as 60. In the past, they’ve also agist, meaning board, other alpacas for other owners as well. They even had as many as 75 on the farm for a short while. Since then, Rebecca has found a herd number that she believes works best.
“We have settled into a herd of 30 to 40 depending on how many we sell and how many crias we have born in a yard,” she says. “This year alone, we’re expecting 11 crias.”
What Alpacas from MaRS Offers the Snohomish Community Today
This selling of alpacas is just one of the many services Alpacas from MaRS offers the Snohomish public today. “Agritourism activities are in full swing April through September,” reports Rebecca. “We offer tours with the option of hands-on felting activities. Visitors can learn about the alpacas, meet some of our farm favorites, feel alpaca fleece, and have the opportunity to make and take something home that represents the full alpaca to finished product process.”
In addition, they also offer birthday parties, group tours, and even friends’ night out, along with workshops on yarn dyeing, felt making, and rug weaving. Visitors to the farm will have a full itinerary, and once all the exploring is done, they can head over to the farm store. “Our farm store is filled with alpaca products made in the USA with U.S.-grown alpaca fleece,” beams Rebecca.
Visitors can find items such as handmade crafts made in Rebecca’s studio and knitwear like socks and gloves from the farm’s fiber collections that were turned into yarn. Some of their fleeces are even sent to “mini-mills” so that they can have their own yard made.
“Some customer favorites are the one-of-a-kind, hand-dyed hats that I make and the oh-so warm and soft alpaca socks,” shares Rebecca.
Today, not only are Rebecca and her husband Mark successfully running Alpacas from MaRS with just the two of them and no hired help, but Rebecca also recently became the youth coordinator for one of the affiliates of the Alpaca Owners Association, the Pacific Northwest Alpaca Association (PNAA).
Their hands are full, with Rebecca spending her days caring for the alpacas, even scooping up poop daily, but she doesn’t mind. Her studio is her sanctuary where she can escape and experiment with all things fiber.”It’s a glamorous life!” she teases.
Mark works off the farm full-time but acts as a weekend ranch hand, chief tractor operator, and shearer extraordinaire. They wouldn’t have it any other way, and Rebecca is equally excited for the future. Currently, on the breeding side of the business, she’s working on a line of appaloosa alpacas and plans to expand their agritourism opportunities.
“I plunged head first into all things alpaca and haven’t looked back,” says Rebecca.
Learn more about Alpacas from MaRS by following them on Facebook or Instagram.
Alpacas From MaRS
424 153rd Drive SE, Snohomish
425.870.9403
