Goat farmers making their mark Couple trades in big-city jobs to operate cashmere wool farm with customers across the globe SHERRY MARTELL The News

Christina Silver cuddles with one of her cashmere goats, which produces one of the warmest, most durable, softest, luxury fibres in the world. During the past four years Silver, along with her husband Chris and daughter London Eve, has grown the family farm in Marshville to be the largest cashmere farm in Canada, harvesting the raw fibre and producing finished products. Sherry Martell – The News

MARSHVILLE – About four years ago Christina Silver and her husband Chris took a giant leap of faith packing in their comfortable urban lives to seek simplicity in a rural setting.
The pair left their high-pressure jobs, in rehabilitation and the justice system, and found the catalyst of their dream life, a vacant farm in Marshville. Armed only with a plan to raise cashmere goats and ambition to succeed, they have grown from humble beginnings to producing the largest cashmere goat herd in the country, as well as earning the prestige of being the only cashmere wool farm in Canada that takes the luxury fibre from raw material to a finished product.
"It really shouldn't have worked but we were so optimistic and we knew what we wanted to do," she said.
Silver said they wanted to leave the city in search of a better, simpler life to raise their daughter, London Eve, age 12.
With few resources and no farming experience they learned on the fly from the school of hard knocks, moving to the farm the very same day their first six cashmere goats arrived from northern British Columbia.
As vegans, they decided fibre-farming best suited their values and envisioned lifestyle, and felt cashmere goats were the ideal choice because their wool is in great demand.
"Cashmere is the finest, warmest, softest natural fibre on the planet and the number one luxury fibre," said Silver. 
Now their farm is home to about 115 cashmere goats, along with a miniature horse, donkey, llama, chickens, and geese.
"It has been a challenging experience no question about that," she said.
While carrying out labour intensive farm duties they educated themselves on herd health, organics, environment and medications and are now seeing the results of their labour of love.
This year was their first significant harvest, about 10 pounds, combed in the spring when the goats "blow" their coats, a natural release of the soft fibres.
The cashmere is hand-combed from the animals and each coat will yield between six to eight ounces of the precious fibre, which when finished will earn about $360.
The wool is cleaned at Belfast Mini-Mills in P.E.I. and then returned to the farm for dying, carding and spinning.
Christina learned hand-dying techniques to colour the luxury fibre using exotic and historic natural dyes.
The cashmere yarn is then hand-knit using historic 18th century patterns to create unique clothing items such as shawls, scarves, mittens, hats or other custom orders.
The Silvers' feel the animals are thriving there because they know they are loved and do not feel their lives are threatened.
"All we have to do its love them and keep them healthy and they give us such a treasure in the spring," said Silver. "It is tranquil and harmonious here. The animals know they are not at risk of any negative consequences. Whatever you give them is what they give back."
Since July, when the family officially began marketing the cashmere and finished products, they have gained customers from Europe, Saudi Arabia, northern Canada and the United States.
smartell@transcontiental.ca