Photo by Kimberley (c)2016

So I bought this at the international shopping section at the CNE.

http://www.theex.com

This exhibition and junk food emporium is held annually every summer in downtown Toronto and features rides, shopping, games, a farm display with live animals and all the deep-fried food you shouldn’t be eating (eg deep-fried butter!)

I was intrigued by the assortment of camel products at the Mongolian booth so decided to investigate. I ended up with a slew of animal products and literature on the health benefits of camel wool. When doing a Google search for more information, I also came across such topics as the benefits of camel milk, meat and urine! Well we won’t go there.

Camel wool is being touted as a lightweight, hypoallergenic and temperature regulating material. For this reason, it has been fashioned into various types of clothing, rugs, blankets and filling for pillows.

Though not as popularly used as sheep wool, it doesn’t seem to elicit the same itchy reaction that some people have to sheep’s wool. It is also not as heavy as sheep’s wool and is able to keep you warm in cold weather and cool in warm weather. Also, unlike sheep’s wool, the camels are not sheared nor sent to the barber. The fur is collected once the camel sheds its coat. The coat consists of an outer more coarse layer and an inner more fine layer. The two layers are separated through combing with the finer material used in textiles.

Bactrian camels have two humps and are found in the Gobi desert region of Asia. They are the source of such camel wool health fervour.

Camel milk is said to be antibacterial, a source of cell regenerating alpha-hydroxy acids and rich in proteins, vitamins A, C, B1, B2 and B12. It is used in soap products for its skin softening and moisturizing properties. I bought a bar of lavender and geranium camel milk soap at the CNE. Report to follow…

http://www.camelcompany.ca/pages/frequently-asked-questions