Ten years ago, no one wanted to be a shepherd in Catalonia. Many farmers were forced to sell their flocks because they couldn't find anyone to shepherd them. The trend has reversed and the profession no longer seems so reviled, judging by the growing interest in the Shepherds' School of Catalonia. This year, 55 candidates applied, of which 18 were selected. "I'm here by vocation, because I like to live connected to nature and animals," exclaims Yeray Yánez, one of the students who began theoretical classes last Monday in the town of Montenartró (Pallars Sobirà).
A total of 90 students have passed through the Escola de Pastors de Catalunya in the last five years. 70% have managed to develop their project in the livestock sector. The majority proclaim that being a shepherd is a latent vocation that has awakened at a crucial moment in their lives. “I imagine a day of grazing with the sarró, with the necessary food to survive in the mountains and without a mobile phone. Just connected to nature and looking after the flock. And if anyone wants something from me, they can come and see me,” says Yeray, a 35-year-old Canarian.
Not all of them will focus their future on herding herds, but rather on becoming part of a new generation that has nothing to do with traditional livestock farming, but with agroecology. After receiving the training, they will have to start from scratch, as few come from farming families.
Toni Cantón, a 29-year-old from Manresa, wants to undertake an educational project based on the influence of the rural world on education. “There are still children who don't know how milk is obtained.”
María Abadías, a 27-year-old from Barcelona, will use her studies in biology and organic farming to start something ambitious: an organic sheep farm on a family farm, long abandoned in the Vall del Bac, in Alta Garrotxa. “My idea is to start with sheep for meat and quality wool and then expand the business with horses, cows, organic beekeeping and rural tourism. It will be my life project and I want to make a living there.”
Some students have left their jobs to start a new professional path, as disreputable as it is uncertain, whether as a shepherd or a cattle farmer. Among those who have opted for a radical change are Gonzalo, a naval engineer, and Arnau, a social educator.
The Shepherds' School is an initiative of the socio-cultural association Rurbans, which works to revitalize the region through traditional crafts. The success achieved in the five years it has been in operation surprises its managers, who fear for continuity. "The Generalitat has owed us the last three years, about 55,000 euros, and we don't know how much we will be able to bear," says Vanesa Freixa, coordinator of the project.
The course costs 500 euros. After a month of classes, they do a four-month internship on a farm, where they will work with the owner in exchange for food and accommodation. The apprentice profile is a 30-year-old person. 60% come from Barcelona and only 8% from Lleida.
Source: El Pais
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