ShepherdSchool

Shepherd schools are already active in many European countries, such as France, Spain, Portugal and Switzerland. The benefits that derive from these activities, as European experiences show, are linked to support for the start-up of new activities in the livestock sector, in particular through the diffusion of the know-how that was once guaranteed within the communities themselves thanks to the widespread presence of livestock farms on the territory, which no longer exist today. The new breeders are therefore having to face, alone and without training, a difficult world full of challenges and uncertainties.

With ShepherdSchool we are giving 24 new shepherds the opportunity to train through 4 different training cycles, which will be combined with an internship period in local farms of about 30 days. The teaching will be carried out mainly by the technical staff of the project partnership.

The theoretical training part will be held in 2023 in Casentino, at the “Officine di Capodarno” Training Centre in Stia; to the aspiring shepherds who will be selected to participate in the school, the project offers free accommodation, at facilities in the Foreste Casentinesi National Park or similar, for the entire duration of the theoretical course. In the internship part, the trainees will stay at the farms involved in the project.

Enrolment in the School is free of charge.

The learners will see their training recognised within the Training and Guidance System of the Region of Tuscany, which is actively involved in the organisation of the school.