Romanian shepherd walks 1,300 km with herd across Carpathians in trashumance revival project

A 35-year old Romanian shepherd has traveled across five countries with his herd of 300 sheep for more than 100 days, in a project aimed at reviving the tradition of transhumance, the seasonal movement of livestock. Cristian Suciu (in picture, middle), a shepherd from the village of Rotbav in Brasov county, left on his 1,350 kilometer trip together with a Romanian friend, two Ukrainian and two Polish shepherds, according to Mediafax newswire. Suciu was the only Romanian of the initial team to make it to the destination in Poland, where he arrived together with the Pole Piotr Kohut, one of the project initiators, while the others gave up on the way. Backed by the foundation Pasterstwo Transhumancyjne in Poland and Transhumanta in Romania, the project was met with enthusiasm along the way, more so abroad in Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, than in Romania. In their home country, the initiators were met with a lack of enthusiasm, as many people wanted to know what was in it for them for helping out. Abroad however, many volunteers helped shape up their project. The team of six was accompanied by three shepherd dogs, two dogs for the return trip and three donkeys. The donkeys however were not accepted into Ukraine as they needed a special passport. At their arrival in Poland, the Polish president Bronislaw Komorowski met the Romanian and shook his hand. Of the encounter, the Romanian shepherd said: “This has never happened in my life! He shook hands with a shepherd. This is something in the end. He was surrounded by his security team." George Căţean, one of the organizers of the project, who accompanied the group but who took the driving route, sold the 300-sheep herd in Poland. He is planning a new project for next year and would prefer the Polish partners to take leadership, to avoid the red tape in Romania. His new project Carpathian Youngster is dedicated to the youth in rural areas and will send 20 young Poles, 20 Ukrainiians and 20 Romanians, aged between 18 and 26, to spend a week in Poland, Ukraine and Romania each. A second project is called the Carpathian Taste (Gustul din Carpati), which aims to promote traditional products from mountain areas from several Balkan countries. editor@romania-insider.com (photo source: Redyk Karpacki 2013 Transhumance Transhumanta on Facebook)