Cities And Memory

This is our friend Vasilis, the last shepherd in Mikro Papingo, and Iannis, his Albanan helper shearing goats. Mikro Papingo is one of the numerous stone villages found in the Zagorochoria in the mountains of north west Greece.  After wintering his flock of 350 goats in the Vikos Gorge, living in a cave for weeks on end Vasilis brings the goats and their young back to the village in the spring. The adult goats' hair need trimming and Vasilis still does this with hand shears rather than an electric razor. This clip is where a younger goat which has not been sheared before is brought in and is very nervous. You can hear it trying to escape past the corrugated iron gate at one point and the very calm and measured reaction from Vasilis and Iannis who sooth it into the mesmeric clipping sounds.  In the past the goat hair was highly prized for making the incredibly warm and waterproof coats (samaroskouti) worn by the shepherds. When I asked Vasilis where his clippings would go he said "only the birds want it now