![]() Today, as fewer shepherds tread the well-worn paths, the forest is closing back in and the extensive network of routes created over time is vanishing. They usually wear a thick coat made of goat's wool that is suitable for sleeping outside Image: Dimitris Tosidis Thomas Ziagkas on horseback as he brings his flock to their winter destination in Deskati, Greece Image: Dimitris Tosidis A shepherd walks in the morning fog carrying heavy blankets. Some studies also show nomadic grazing livestock may help prevent forest fires. ![]() Migration along well-trodden paths has also shaped the landscape, creating unique, open-space habitats that are home to an array of plants and animals, as well as wildlife corridors for other animals to move through. Moving animals means pastures have time to recover and don't become overexploited, while shepherds can avoid summer droughts by heading to the mountains where snow is melting, and grass is growing. UNESCO named transhumance an "intangible cultural heritage " in 2019, and describes it as one of the most sustainable and efficient ways to farm livestock. That shift continued amid rapid urbanization on the back of economic growth in the decades that followed. Once relatively widespread, the tradition began to lose popularity in the 1960s and 70s as mechanized agriculture and new farming technologies took over. Transhumance is mainly practiced by Greece's indigenous groups like the Vlachs and Sarakatsani, as well as migrants from Albania and Romania. I didn't choose this life, but if I had a choice, it would be this." Elini Tzima and her husband Nasos Tzimas are among Greece's last nomadic shepherds Image: Dimitris Tosidis Every shepherd follows a specific path according to individual family tradition Image: Dimitris Tosidis A disappearing green, cultural heritage "I'm used to the cold climate and the quiet of the mountain summer. I've never had a day off because these animals don't," she said. "We struggle every day from dawn to dusk. ![]() Tzima, who says her husband's ill health means their 2020 trek was likely their last, describes their way of life as hard but rewarding. They're among the oldest pastoral shepherds to take part in an annual trek, known as "diava," in the mountainous Pindus National Park near Greece's border with Albania. But that tradition is dying and they are some of the last still practicing this type of farming in the country.ĭuring the summer months the couple, both in their 80s, live in a makeshift hut, using solar energy to power a radio, cellphones and lights. The Tzimas family is part of a millennia-old tradition of transhumance, or the seasonal movement of animals between fixed grazing grounds. Eleni Tzima and her husband Nasos Tzimas have herded their livestock some 150 kilometers (93 miles) between summer pastures in northwest Greece's isolated highlands down to their winter home in the lowlands for the past 53 years.
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