HOW DID
HELL'S CHOCOLATE HEAVEN ALPACAS COME TO BE?
Sven Teckel Hell decided to give his beautiful alpaca farm in Potsdam a name that resulted from the combination of his surname and his main job at the Berlin marzipan manufacturer Lemke. The dark chocolate reflects his love of breeding predominantly dark alpaca colors. This is how Hell's Chocolate Heaven Alpacas - HCH Alpacas Potsdam for short - was born.
More than 20 years have now passed since he started breeding alpacas. During this time he has learned a lot, made a few mistakes, made many new friends and, above all, got to know the big wide world of alpacas. The start was in Switzerland with Arnold Luginbühl. Sven did a beginner's course there and bought his first 3 mares from him a year later. He later traveled to England, Australia, Switzerland, New Zealand and Holland. He visited alpaca farms everywhere, exchanged ideas and always learned something new. Here and there he has supplemented the herd with selected breeding animals. This exchange is still extremely important for alpaca owners today.
Sven is now revolutionizing suri breeding with his colors. Although he basically breeds huacayas and suris, he has set up his own farm to devote more attention to suris: Surirevolution | Brandenburg. His breeding goal here is dark and exciting colors in healthy animals. He attaches great importance to different genetics and conformity.
His herd has now grown to over 100 alpacas. He has animals from all over the world and in many different colors. They are kept in a wide variety of locations to ensure optimal breeding, as the pasture will not be ready until summer 2024. Due to import restrictions, he unfortunately still has many very good animals in Australia.
ANIMAL-ASSISTED TEAM COACHING, INTERVENTIONS & ALPACA EVENTS
In 2024, Katja Niendorf joined the company as a business partner. She comes from a family dedicated to horses and agriculture. Even as a child, she was fascinated by these gentle New World camels, though her dream of having her own herd of alpacas on her parents’ farm never came to fruition.
She brings years of experience in digital and agile transformation from management consulting and her work with the State of Berlin. In addition, she has completed training as a coach for llama- and alpaca-assisted activities and is currently training to become a naturopathic practitioner specializing in psychotherapy.
She now channels her passion for nature, animals, and working with people as an independent partner at HCH Alpacas Potsdam. Here, Katja Niendorf continues to develop the infrastructure for alpaca events, animal-assisted coaching, and interventions, and, with great dedication and expertise, creates additional weekday programs to complement Sven’s mixed alpaca hikes on weekends and holidays.