Photos by Marc Rovellada Ballesteros published in La Mira and Happyxais.
Daniel is a shepherd who has been hired by the City Council of El Bruc (a town in Central Catalonia) to graze in the natural areas between the area's towns. Like other shepherds who work in the traditional way, he practises transhumance (seasonal nomadism to take the animals to the best pastures), and when the herd comes to El Bruc their grazing is this job. In modern times, this job is usually done by the municipal brigade with chainsaws and string trimmers, but Daniel's herd can do it just as well. It consists of 150 sheep, 130 goats, 4 dogs and 1 donkey, as well as the shepherd himself. Grazing in this area, they keep the vegetation to a controlled level, making it safer and reducing the chances of a wildfire.
Shepherding and grazing have been used in this way for millennia, uninterruptedly in many places, and now a few urban areas like El Bruc are joining again in what is being called "silvopasture". Grazing in urban areas is more demanding for the shepherd, because he has to be careful with cars, domestic animals, and neighbours, but in the end it is a mutually-beneficial arrangement.
Daniel shares snippets of his job in his Instagram account Happyxais.savall.
