In the mood for life

Oh my!  Half way through my two-week apprenticeship at La Chèvrerie de la Grandouze and I am as thrilled as ever to be in cheese and agriculture.  Isabelle and Jacques Douillon have been at it for nearly 30 years, starting out on their own in their early 20s after several less-then-interesting farm hand jobs.  With degrees in agriculture, this young couple began with 50 goats in the Beaujolais mountains.  While at lower altitudes the land is almost entirely covered with vineyards, the Douillon land is just higher than the famous grapes and rests in a cozy bowl between two mountain faces.  From their barn you can look to the south and see the clouds run up the western mountains and back down to the east.  When the rest of the landscape is covered in fog, you can often find the sun at la Grandouze. 

Today, Jacques cares for about 160 goats, producing between 200 and 400 liters of milk per day depending on the season.  Meanwhile, Isabelle makes between 400 and 800 fresh goat cheeses, depending on the type.  While most farmers in the area work alone, the couple decided early on to employ people to help with the cheese and the goats because they value their time off.  While this small enterprise runs every single day of the year, Isabelle and Jacques manage to take every Thursday off (except when something needs their attention, which happens often) as well as one weekend per month.  Side projects abound, inspiring new energy in what could be a tiring daily ritual.  For instance, Thomas, their eldest son, has come back to the farm to create an educational center complete with a new reception room, yurts and walking path.

Last Tuesday I was alone in the barn when a mama goat went into labor.  Doing as I had seen Thomas and Jacques do, I held on to the kid's front legs as they emerged in the correct, superman-style position.  I made sure the head was in position with my fingers, and after some very painful goat yelling I held a new born kid in my hands.  Holding the kid upside down, as I had observed, I worked the front legs back and forth to encourage breathing and then laid him down, encouraged by his sneeze.  The doe then proceeded to lick her infant clean and I left the pen happy and very proud.