FRENCH JOURNEY - PROGRAMME 2

THE BLUE COAST - THE HILLS

Wendy took the "Côte Bleue little train", a service which runs all year round along this wild coastline.  It was the Italians, not the French, who opened this train line at the beginning of the last century, and as a result, tourism developed.  However, this corner of Southern France remains unspoilt - with rocky slopes, the inebrating smell of the pine trees, lavender and herbs.  But the summer sun isn't always friendly.  The pine trees burn very quickly and when they're alight, they can reach temperatures of up to 1000°, with terrible consequences.  Out of desperation, a group of local inhabitants set out on a mission - to save their countryside!

Man 1:  It's a passion. I love nature.  We're a small group, we get along very well and we have wonderful Saturday mornings.

Man 2:  It's done in the spirit of taking part in the preservation of our heritage, our hillsides.  There used to be fields of olive and almond trees here.  We don't want it to disappear altogether. 

Old fashioned methods often work the best.  In the past, the locals
grew trees on the terraces like these.  Today, stone by stone, the volunteers are restoring them with great care.  They're planting olives, apricots and oaks - which are tougher than pine trees.  If they catch fire, they burn more slowly.  But it's a huge task.   

Man 3:  Even if our association worked every weekend for 20 years we could only cover 5% of our natural heritage. 

Wendy:  That can't be true!

Man 3:  So jobs need to be created  so that there's regular work and continuous restoration and reforestation.  In the end, there'd be an improvement in our eco-system.

Group of locals volunteers:  To our hills!

Wendy:  To the hills! Cheers!

A toast to their sweaty forheads and the conservation of this unique countryside!

This isn't the only thing that's special in these hills.  In olden times, the village of Rove was priveleged enough to have 4000 goats.  Today, there's nothing left but one solitary herd.  André Gouiran's decided to continue this tradition.

André Gouiran:  It's a job you have to love.  It's like taking religious vows.  You're called to it, and to stay with it you need passion.  It's good, but it's restricting.  You have to tend the animals every day.

This species of goat is unique to these hills.  André has 200 - and he knows each of them by name!  In the past, everybody earned a living looking after the goats.  André's family have been goatherds for 500 years.  And today his sons want to continue the tradition. 

Wendy:  Are you pleased that your sons want to be goatherds?

André Gouiran:  Yes, very pleased

Wendy:  Why?

André Gouiran:   Because there's the hope  that this job which has been going on for centuries in Le Rove, will continue.  It's a traditional job.  And I like to believe it has a future.  I think at some point people will come back to their roots.  I'm not backward-looking.  Progress is all very well, but you mustn't forget everything.  You have to be reasonable.

André is so concerned by the adverse effects of 20th century progress on the environment, that he's written a poem on the subject;

André Gouiran:  
Soul of sheperd and heart of wolf,
Hunter in the past,
At odds with a society of fools,
Untamed, half wild
On my guard I am.
Good luck to those who in this artificial world are subdued.
Eyes open before the inevitable:
Burning forests, polluted seas,
Impotent and incapable,
We are the witnesses of reality
For ransack and profit
our earth's threatened.
Visions of realism
Instinct of animal in danger,
Despite modernism, 
Values engraved for ever.
Seize the day, wild horses, 
To gallop on the plain,
Nature and pastures 
Are man's wealth.

Every evening , André milks his herd.  This can take up to  three hours…  that's why Wendy offered to help him.

Wendy: I'll try. So I squeeze.

André Gouiran:  Press hard. There you are

Wendy:  Sorry! Sorry!

André Gouiran:  That's it!

Wendy:  That's good. Doesn't it hurt them?

André Gouiran:  No, no

Fresh, warm goat's milk.  All sorts of cheeses attempt to copy Brousse du Rove.  But, this is the real thing.  André's wife, Marie-Ange, makes the Brousse cheese - it's a family business.

André Gouiran:   Do you want to try it plain?

Wendy:  No, with sugar

André Gouiran:  It's not very strong.  Go on, you can try it.

Wendy:  It's good

André Gouiran:   Do you really like it?

Wendy:  Yes, I like it.

Copyright BBC 2000.