May• 2019 | 85students stare out at one of
Jaime’s lush green fields, at
the moment overrun with
large black pigs.
“This type of animal isn’t
being raised on big inten-
sive farms,” explains the
school’s coordinator, Fran-
cisco de Asís Ruiz Morales.
He’s speaking about the
modern practice of having
thousands of animals kept
in indoor stalls. “If we lose
shepherds like Jaime, we
will also lose whole breeds
of indigenous animals.”
As the students wander the brush-
free tundra that makes up much
of Jaime’s land, Francisco explains
that without grazing herds, invasive
weeds such as thistle and heath-
er would quickly destroy the bio-
diversity that has developed over
the past thousands of years of non-
industrial farming in Europe.
“Animals like the lynx and eagle,
that depend on cleared land to hunt,
could disappear,” says Francisco.
Without animals grazing and keeping
the land clear, the forest fires plagu-
ing Europe would become even more
uncontrollable.
He points at a cow, munching on a
tuft of grass. “Plants that depend on
wandering farm animals to spread
their seeds would no longer grow,” he
says. “There is a big gap in knowledge.
Society in general doesn’t realise what
is disappearing and its impact.”
A FEW DAYS LATERit’s time for the
students’ last ten-day placements with
a shepherd tutor. Mario and Julia have
both chosen Juan Antonio. They’ve
been waiting for this: the chance to be
on the land with a real shepherd and
soak up his wisdom.
“This is calledtorvisco,” says Juan
Antonio, holding up a long, slim leaf.
The three stand outside his milking
shed, oblivious to the hot Andalusian
sun. He passes them the plant. “It’s
a natural antibiotic, antiseptic and
anti-inflammatory.”
He holds up a weathered plastic
water bottle filled with a dark liquid.
“This is a mixture of olive oil andtor-
visco,” he explains. “It can be used to
treat infections instead of antibiotics.”
When one of his 200 goats or 170
sheep slips on the rocky hills and
gets a cut, he wraps its foot in one of
these leaves. When a milking sheep
gets mastitis – an inf lammation ofMario (left) shearing sheep alongside
Juan Antonio’s son