00:00At first, it wasn't easy for the herdsman to accept that a woman wanted to learn this profession.
00:10Fifteen years ago, Gabriella Michalozzi changed her life and became a shepherdess.
00:17Back then, she was a pioneer in Italy.
00:20Before that, she'd lost her job at a call centre.
00:23She and other striking workers occupied the company's premises for six months, to no avail.
00:28By the end, they were living from home-grown food, like her grandparents once farmed.
00:33That marked a turning point for her.
00:37My sister and I said to ourselves,
00:40if our grandparents could live a dignified life on a farm with a few animals,
00:45then we should also be able to make something edible out of the earth, and a few hens.
00:50So that's how our adventures in agriculture began.
00:55She started by bringing her family's farm, an hour's drive from Florence, back to life.
01:00The fields were overgrown. It was hard work.
01:08With a herder, Gabriella Michalozzi exchanged her first five goats for a few large bottles of wine.
01:14Then, as her herd grew, she traded forty goats for twenty sheep.
01:18Still, at first, her male colleagues weren't eager to pass on any valuable tips.
01:25These men couldn't believe that I actually wanted to work as a shepherd.
01:31I asked them if there was anyone who could teach me this profession or could help me.
01:38But no one wanted to.
01:40Only after a few years did that change.
01:44Today, I'm known all over as Gabriella, the shepherdess.
01:48Meanwhile, more and more Italian women want to follow in her footsteps.
01:54To make it easier for the next generation, a shepherd school opened three years ago in Tuscany.
02:00Caterina Blasi has just enrolled there.
02:03It was founded by the Foresti Cassantinesi National Park.
02:07What I like about this work is that I can live far removed from civilisation, which is growing ever more hectic.
02:16I can just sit under a tree and watch the sheep or dogs and really get back to nature.
02:22I've always believed that you need to do what you love without fear of being judged by others.
02:28Caterina is 30. She studied wildlife sciences and has long been tracking the return of wolves and their growing population's effect on sheep herds in Europe.
02:41During this time, she's gotten to know and love the shepherd's life.
02:46Currently, six women and two men are training to be shepherds here.
02:50Over the coming months, they'll study biology, grazing management, animal husbandry and agribusiness management.
02:57The students have the support of the Foresti Cassantinesi National Park's president, Claudia Mazzoli.
03:04You're setting off on a path that is very important to us,
03:09because being a shepherd means safeguarding our landscape, our habitat, that's at risk of disappearing.
03:16She stresses that creating jobs for young people here is just as vital.
03:24A generational change is very important for us, because the mountain villages of the Apennines are suffering from strong-out migration and the population is aging.
03:35That makes us fear for the future.
03:39On the shepherd's school's schedule today, cheesemaking.
03:50This here is fresh sheep's milk, to which we've added cultures.
03:54To make this kind of cheese, it's good to use a little room that's kept at a constant temperature of 20 degrees Celsius,
04:00because the milk stands here, which is now curdling, as well as the freshly made cheese.
04:07The school ensures that its graduates learn the skills they'll need to live from their dream job.
04:13Experienced shepherdess Gabriella also has some good advice for the new recruits.
04:19If you're prepared to love the land and the animals, and don't see living such a life as making a sacrifice,
04:30on the contrary, it makes you happy, then this is the right profession for you.
04:37Gabriella will soon have lots of budding shepherds and shepherdesses by her side.
04:44Unlike those men when she was starting out, she's happy to help these young people learn the ropes.
04:51How you doing that?
04:53How you doing that?
04:55How my skills have freedom?
05:08How terrible they've needed to drive things inaja-like phase.
05:12scheeps on them, as well as the way, means sex.
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