The first cycle of training of the School for shepherds and breeders realised in Casentino as part of the LIFE ShepForBio project came to an end with the 2023. The aspirant shepherds who took part in the School’s activities were eight, five boys and three girls. Some of them, like Luigi and Alejandra, already had their own farm with a small goat-breeding activity that they wanted to improve, others, like Federico and Gemma, were fresh out of university or still studying, Cosimo and Marco worked as employees in other farms and dreamed about starting their own business, Rachele managed a dog boarding house, hoping that one day she would be able to concentrate on sheepdogs, and Giovanni worked as a metalworker in Castelnuovo Monti, in the province of Reggio Emilia.
So let’s try to draw a balance of this first year and see how, and if, these young people managed to realise their dream, or at least start their own business, and if the school was in any way useful to them. Certainly, this experience has created a network of contacts, and more importantly, friendships, not only among the students but especially with the farmers who hosted them during their training periods, who became real friends and mentors for them.
But let’s go back to ours…….Luigi and Alejandra still own their farms where they put into practice what they learned at school; Alejandra told us: “previously we didn’t have control over the quality of the cheeses, in April the cheese were wonderful, in summer they were not so good…..but thanks to visits and observing the work of others we can now provide a product that has the same quality throughout the production season. I also realised that farm diversification is crucial considering that so many things can happen in a year, for instance related to climate and economic changes, and the possibility of having different sources of income makes it much more feasible to keep the farm going over time, and in this respect resource management (pastures above all) also plays a fundamental role. Networking amongst students and with teachers?…. I think was, after all, the most valuable part of this experience, we ask each other for advice and clarification all the time and it is comforting to know that we are not ‘alone’ as young people in this pastoral/farming world”.
Rachele continues to work with dogs, but she has bought the first small group of sheep, which will soon increase, to exercise her sheepdogs….she has clear ideas, she would like to organise clinics in Casentino with local shepherds and not only. Federico will soon begin his Master’s degree in Nutrition History. In the meantime, after his experience at the ShepherdSchool, he spent some time in the Alps, in Lombardy, helping other shepherds… these are all experiences that, we hope, will be useful to him once he has completed his studies. Gemma has bought her first goats and is starting a small farm on a family property in the municipality of Castel San Niccolò, in Casentino. Cosimo is still working as an employee but is considering several proposals for the purchase of his own farm; Giovanni has gone a step further, he has now signed a preliminary contract for the purchase of his own farm close to home. And Marco? He has returned to the north and now owns 250 meat sheep, which he manages together with a friend’s flock.
We can definitely say that the balance is positive; of course there is still a long way to go and many difficulties, but shepherds are known to be resilient….good luck guys…
We remind you that registration for the 2024 year remains open until 31 January….go to page https://dream-italia-euprj.eu/life/lifeshepforbio/sheperdschool/
Pictured above, starting from the left: Alejandra, Giovanni, Federico, Gemma, Marco, Cosimo, Luigi and Rachele