Daniela: the former model who chooses sheep farming

YOUNG PEOPLE WHO BECOME PASTORS

She chose sheep and stables over catwalks. It may seem crazy, but this is how former model Daniela Pasinetti found happiness . Originally from Varallo Sesia in the Vercelli area, she decided to follow Davide, now her husband, to the Alpago mountains , where they built their own house with their own hands and tend a flock. And it's a choice that is increasingly uncommon in Italy. In fact, approximately two thousand young people under 40 have chosen to tend sheep . A job they describe as "beautiful" and which provides a solid source of income as well as ensuring the safety of numerous animals at risk of extinction.

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PHOTO MODEL BECOME A PASTOR

Their business began with free-range grazing, roaming with the sheep and spending much of their time outdoors during the transhumance from the plains to the mountains. This feeling immediately gave the two young lovers an extraordinary sense of freedom . Then, little by little, they came up with the idea of ​​building a stable in Alpago, in the province of Belluno, Davide's hometown. Once they had built "a home for the sheep," they began producing cheese using a traditional Piedmontese technique. The result is a delicate product, similar to pecorino , but with its own distinctive character. The milk is produced by their 200 Alpagotta sheep, which will soon grow to many more.

SHEEP FARMING IN ITALY

Daniele and Davide's sheep join an army that already numbers 7.2 million and is growing rapidly . In the last five years alone, 200,000 sheep have been added . Today, Italy has 60,000 farms and 2,000 people under 40 tending flocks. An "old" economy that is flourishing again and has saved 38 breeds from extinction, producing 60 million kilos of cheese each year , half of which is PDO.

Photos from Daniela Pasinetti's Facebook page

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