transhumant shepherd in need
The Kleins' Struggle for Their Future
SWR

365 days a year, Gabi and Frank Klein are out with their sheep. They are passionate nomadic shepherds. There's no vacation or sick leave in their job. The couple runs one of only about 15 nomadic sheep farming operations left in Rhineland-Palatinate. Their numbers are dwindling. The income from this traditional profession now stands at Hartz IV level (a form of unemployment benefit in Germany). Nonetheless, Gabi Klein says, "When we're with our sheep, we're the happiest people in the world." For some time now, the Kleins have been fighting for their future. If the nomadic shepherd couple from Langenbach near Kirburg doesn't find additional grazing land, they will have to give up their operation with 500 sheep after more than 20 years. In 2014, the shepherd couple lost their large summer pasture and therefore EU subsidy payments. This was followed by the classic downward spiral: Less land meant fewer ewes, and fewer ewes meant fewer lambs—the only source of income for the Kleins. The search for leased land seems almost hopeless. After the major drought in 2018, farmers need every hectare to feed their livestock and replenish empty silos. EU area subsidy further exacerbates the situation: No one who owns grazing land wants to give up any of it. But the shortage of land in the Westerwald is not the only concern keeping the Kleins from sleeping peacefully at night. The wolves are back and could destroy their operation in a single night. Despite all the problems, giving up is not an option for Gabi and Frank, who have been working with sheep since their youth. They are fighting for their future and want to save their nomadic sheep farming operation, but above all, their beloved sheep, at all costs. Will the shepherd couple finally find grazing land for their sheep? Or will the Kleins, who are almost 60 years old and heavily in debt, have to give up? "Mensch Leute" accompanies the nomadic shepherd couple through a summer that is existential for both of them.

transhumant shepherd in need

The Kleins' Struggle for Their Future

SWR

365 days a year, Gabi and Frank Klein are out with their sheep. They are passionate nomadic shepherds. There's no vacation or sick leave in their job. The couple runs one of only about 15 nomadic sheep farming operations left in Rhineland-Palatinate. Their numbers are dwindling. The income from this traditional profession now stands at Hartz IV level (a form of unemployment benefit in Germany). Nonetheless, Gabi Klein says, "When we're with our sheep, we're the happiest people in the world." For some time now, the Kleins have been fighting for their future. If the nomadic shepherd couple from Langenbach near Kirburg doesn't find additional grazing land, they will have to give up their operation with 500 sheep after more than 20 years. In 2014, the shepherd couple lost their large summer pasture and therefore EU subsidy payments. This was followed by the classic downward spiral: Less land meant fewer ewes, and fewer ewes meant fewer lambs—the only source of income for the Kleins. The search for leased land seems almost hopeless. After the major drought in 2018, farmers need every hectare to feed their livestock and replenish empty silos. EU area subsidy further exacerbates the situation: No one who owns grazing land wants to give up any of it. But the shortage of land in the Westerwald is not the only concern keeping the Kleins from sleeping peacefully at night. The wolves are back and could destroy their operation in a single night. Despite all the problems, giving up is not an option for Gabi and Frank, who have been working with sheep since their youth. They are fighting for their future and want to save their nomadic sheep farming operation, but above all, their beloved sheep, at all costs. Will the shepherd couple finally find grazing land for their sheep? Or will the Kleins, who are almost 60 years old and heavily in debt, have to give up? "Mensch Leute" accompanies the nomadic shepherd couple through a summer that is existential for both of them.

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