Today we met Nelson, 87 year-old goat farmer. He very much reminded me of my grandfather. I think it was their similar age, profession and self-assurance. (My grandpa is 92 year-old, life-long farmer in Bosnian.) While this made me take an immediate liking to the man, it was his prowess as goat farmer that justified my reverence. Though we visited several accomplished goat farmers, none provided as many valuable day-to-day tips on the best goat rearing practices. Our first lesson was on the importance of varied diet. He stressed that if we wanted our goats to produce good quantity and quality milk, we must feed them diverse foliage. He credited his success at breeding exotic goats (ie German Alpines and British Toggenburgs) where many locals failed to this recipe. As a vegetarian I could sympathize with the herbivores need for a varied diet! We also learned that an added-value of feeding the goats this variety was the aromas that it added to the goat milk.
When Nelson finished giving us an educational tour of his farm, we were treated to an amazing stew and cup of chai made with goat milk! Due to our hypersensitive Western stomachs, we were hesitant to try the unpasteurized goat milk. After one sip, we let go of our inhibitions. After the wonderful meal , we proceeded to have a photo shoot. While it is impossible to forget such a lovely family, we are glad to be able to introduce you to this family via our photos.
Vedrana