What is Cashgora?

March 2, 2026

One of the terms I use a lot to describe my fiber is cashgora and I get asked a lot, “what exactly is Cashgora?”

Cashgora for most fiber goat farmers and spinners can mean a lot of things. Generally it is used for crosses of cashmere goats with angora goats or angora goats with any other breed.

Cashgora is a little more specific for me. I started out breeding Angora goats for their mohair. I got a trio of two lovely does, one a traditional Angora named Guinevere and a silver black doe with just a smidge of cashmere genetics. And their consort Arthur, who is a traditional Navajo Angora. Guinevere, as a traditional angora has medium curls that have gradually grown in micron over the years. Morgan’s locks are very open and loose and lack the shine of a traditional angora, but they have not increased in micron as much. Arthur has big open locks that are about 4” long and have the nice shine of mohair.

As my flock has grown and I’ve poked around with breeding, one of the things I discovered is that modern angoras are not as sturdy as traditional angoras and nothing can compare to the stalwart system of a Navajo angora. My more modern angoras are bred for extreme fiber coverage including in waste areas like their legs and feet and faces. While their locks are longer and their curls are tighter, keeping them healthy in the heat and humidity and clay soil of the southeast is a giant pain in the ass.

So I set out to make an angora cross that fits more with my goals as a farmer and spinner. First and foremost, I wanted healthier animals with better parasite resistance, lower micron fiber for longer. I also wanted better feed conversion ratios and more robust animals. This means animals that spend less resources on growing waste fiber on their faces and legs.

To achieve this I added Pygmy genetics.

To be clear, I did not set out to create pygoras. Pygora goats are a specific breed that has been established by a dedicated group of goat farmers over a LOT of years. They must be between 50% and 75% angora and must be part of the registry. I’m not breeding to sell. I breed to improve replace the animals I have.

So I added Pygmy genetics with the hope to avoid some of the fiber issues that come with lower angora genetic content ~ namely guard hairs. I acquired different bucks who all had 75% or more angora genetics and bred them to my PB angora does or to previous crosses that were above 85% angora. By doing this I have fiber goats that are first and foremost healthy. Most of them have type A fiber (we’ll talk more about that later) that is close to kid-mohair micron for most of their lives.

There are drawbacks. They make less fiber than a traditional angora goat, they have modulated fibers all down their spines which must be thrown away, and we definitely get throw-backs that are more b-types with low micron fiber and guard hairs. They cannot be sold for as much $ as a registered animal. And oddly they vary a lot in size. I assumed the size genetics will average out based on the percentage of Pygmy genetics, but that is not the case. I have a set of triplets with one doe the size of a Pygmy goat, one just a smidge smaller than her angora mother, and a buck who is just as large as an angora buck and a good bit heavier.

Back to our thesis question!

All of this very focused cross breeding has resulted in a really lovely fiber that isn’t pygora, isn’t cashmere, and isn’t truly mohair. It is Cashgora!

Caveats and addendums:

I don’t breed to sell and therefore am not interested in being part of a registry. BUT I do respect those that are. Part of my intentional use of the word Cashgora is to show respect for the folks that are out there breeding goats with mohair or pygora or cashmere specific fiber and breed traits.

Nigora is also a type of fiber goat. The breed is still in development, but the goal is a dual purpose goat for both milk and fiber. I just want to say that the nigora people are the best. Maybe it is because they’re not yet protecting a registry and the value of their registered goats. But it doesn’t matter. They’re the nicest and most inclusive people. If you’re just getting started, they run some great groups and are really friendly and gentle with their education and communication.

Did I mention how much healthier my crosses are? That smidge of Pygmy genetics makes all the difference between parasite resistance and better feed conversion and unsustainable vet bills. I love my vet. But one visit from her basically wipes out all income from that animal for the year. If I have just a few animals each year that need her medical expertise, that is ok. But if half of them need it?

I’ve actually considered trademarking the term Cashgora as the fiber from an angora crossed with another goat breed with the intention of activating the cashmere gene and lowering fiber micron count. Then just letting folks use the term as they need. That way I can continue to use the term without the worry that someone far more intense than me will trademark it for their new breed and leave those of us with mutt fiber goats without a marketing term for our fiber.

I get a lot of flack and judgement for my goats from the purists. They’re wrong to do it and they don’t accomplish anything by saying shitty things about my spinner’s flock of mutts. BUT, I would like to point out that sheep people are the total opposite. They LOVE purebred sheep and they LOVE crosses. They love experimenting with crosses and finding out what sort of fun and fabulous fiber can come from them. If a cross is a bust, they shrug and move on. AND If you don’t have purebred sheep, they don’t care. You could show up at a sheep producers picnic with an elephant on a leash calling it a mixed sheep, and they would give you and your elephantsheep lots of hugs and make sure there was room for you at the table and your elephant in the barn. Sheep people are awesome. I wish fiber goat people were more like sheep people.