Carla Vico Mirella Agù
Herders in the Po and the Varaita
Mirella Agù was born in 1973 in a family of Crissolo. They have been herders for generations. Her grandparents came to Chianale in 1957 looking for new grazes.In this place the family still works.
She tells of her youth when she was taken to the grazes by her grandmother and she describes her experience and the fear of mice and the house she lived in.
She explains the hardness of herding and the need for many hours of work a day. She describes this work, the departure from the plane in the late spring, the transhumance during the night, the arrival in the morning in Chianale. For this job a special relation with the animals is needed. The herder knows all his animals, their names and needs.
Ms. Agù presents a normal day of work during the summer and the special events that mark the season, such as the birth of a new veil.
While cheese making is a fundametal part of her work, she points out the strategies employed to promote the local cheese, such as the creation of the “Nostrale d’alpe” association, and their role.
In her telling, she present also some memories linked to special events of her youth.
This interview was collected for a research promoted by the Cuneo Province Council - Department of Agriculture, parks and forest and conducted by the University of Gastronomic Sciences in order to institute the archive Cuneo province agriculture between tradition and innovation.
Video table of contents
- Carried in a pack-horse
- Sleeping with the grandmother
- Work and passion
- Leaving the plane
- The cows understand when it is the right time
- Natural remedies for the cattle deseases
- A normal day of a herder
- Passion, not money
- The Nostrale d'Alpe association
- Renting the grazes
- Hardship of herding
- Managing the herd
- The child and the witches
- Worried for the weather
- St. Chiaffredo: parade and the santuary
- Milking when she was a child
- St. Micheal day in Chianale
- A black ribbon and one only bell
Interview information
Country: IT
Region: Piemonte
City: Pontechianale
District: CN
Suburb: Chianale
Altitude: 1700m s.l.m.
Mirella Agù
Date of birth: 05-08-1973
City: Carignano
Profession: Other
Languages: Italiano, dialetto piemontese
Bibliography:
All'origine dei sapori. Cuneo, viaggio tra i prodotti agroalimentari della provincia, a cura di Erica Croce e Giovanni Perri, Bra, Università degli Studi di Scienze Gastronomiche-Slow Food Editore, 2012, pp. 64-65.
Document by: Franco Zampicinini, Gianpaolo Fassino, Luca Percivalle
Video by: Luca Percivalle
Created: 23-08-2013
