84 | May• 2019
years as an extra shepherd hand with
a flock completing thetranshumance,
a centuries-old practice of seasonally
guiding animals thousands of kilo-
metres across the country to graze
in more agreeable temperatures. He
could work for someone else again, or
even tend his own flock of animals on
public land. But what he really wants
is his own flock and land. As he’s
learned over the past weeks, there are
grants to help young shepherds – but
only if you already have 500 sheep or
170 goats. To have what he wants, he’ll
have to work smart. He knows these
spreadsheets matter.
That afternoon the students gather
on the verandah of a local bar. “Milk
and meat prices haven’t gone up for
25 years,” complains Cristobal Padilla
Garcia, whose family raises animals.
“You have to make sure that your
animals are productive all the time.”
Julia sits and listens. Raised by
architect parents who
farmed pigs on the side,
she only really discovered
her love of all things rural
while working on a farm in
Colombia after finishing
her studies in literature,
philosophy and theology.
But on the farm, every day
was vibrant and new. She
loved the work. She con-
nected with the animals
and the land.
“Before today, I liked
the idea that shepherding
is more bucolic, that there aren’t a
lot of numbers,” says Julia. Now she’s
learned that the modern technology
and accounting she thought she was
leaving behind might actually be use-
ful for her dream of making cheese –
and help her find peace of mind out
on the land.
“The class convinced me,” says Julia.
“The tools the professor gave us are
perfect.” But what she likes most about
becoming a shepherd “is not the busi-
ness part, but the time spent with the
animals in the countryside.”AT 9AM THE NEXT DAY, 16 bleary-
eyed future shepherds climb into a
large van for one of the last educa-
tional field trips of the course. After a
bumpy 20-minute drive, they arrive on
the land of Jaime Hidalgo Ruiz, a local
shepherd who raises a rare breed of
indigenous pig used to make Spain’s
prized cured ham –Jamón Ibérico. TheJuan Antonio holds a wheel of cheese
he made from goat’s milkPHOTOS: DAVID BIASI