Being descendants of the nomadic breeders who once dominated the mountain peaks and plains of the Balkan area, the Vlachs who appears in the Byzantine documents in the 11th century, are still practice transhumance in Greece maintaining a tradition that has deep roots in time.
For almost 35 years and despite the modernization Kostas and Efthymios Papastavros, being completely harmonized with seasons changes and following the long-time tradition in Thessaly and their 73 years old father’s steps, move each year on foot at the end of May with the whole family and the livestock from their home and the winter barn in Theopetra village in the Thessalian plain to the highlands and their makeshift summer pen, almost 45 km away and 1,603m height in the “Koziakas” mountain, part of Pindus mountain range in Northwestern Greece, the homeland of Vlachs/Aromanians and the summer home of a large number of Greek goats and sheep through centuries.
Obliged to be always close to their livestock, the family fights a daily struggle for survival from the early morning till late afternoon. The almost 600 goats’ hand-milking process twice per day, their all-day grazing on the steep mountain slopes where fresh greenery and huge variety of herbs grows constantly, the bears and the wolves that threaten the flock, the unpredictable, extreme weather conditions and the transportation of the raw milk through rutty forest road twice per day to the processing plants are some of the daily challenges that they come up against every day.
However, are not the daily challenges that threaten the seasonal droving of livestock along migratory old routes in Pindus Mountain range in Northwestern Greece. The social discredit of the breeder's profession, the modern lifestyle, the low prices of livestock products, the climate change and its negative impacts in parts of Europe’s southern and Mediterranean regions as well as the high inflation rate in Greece and the rise in energy costs are heading transhumance to decrease and may even have to be abandoned in recent years.
According to Inspector of Agriculture Demosthenes Sirakis data, almost 13.700 herder families and amongst them 3.409 Vlach families were traveling with the livestock to Greek mainland every spring and every autumn on 1924. Almost 100 years later less than 3.000 are still use the pastoralism system in the area of Greece and only few hundred are still move on foot with their livestock from one grazing ground to another in a seasonal cycle.
Kostas, Efthymios and their family is one of the few hundred that still practice in transhumance. Despite their occasionally disappointment and discouragement of the challenges that they have to face on their tough daily life they are willing to keep following their way of life.” My heart beats up on the mountains and my soul is at peace when I am hearing the buzz of the goats’ bells. I am proud for being a herder, I am proud for my flock and my origin” Kostas says.
Transhumance shapes relations among people, animals and ecosystems. It involves shared rituals and social practices, caring for and breeding animals, managing land, forests and water resources, and dealing with natural hazards. Transhumant herders have in-depth knowledge of the environment, ecological balance and climate change, as this is one of the most sustainable, efficient livestock farming methods. It’s them that mainly still keeps the Greek mountainous villages and the rich cultural heritage alive through the years. Folk music and dance, festivals and customs, traditional weddings and baptism events are directly connected with the traditional droving of livestock.