"Being a shepherd means no feasts and holidays, that's why young boys can't stand it. It is financially rewarding, but it is very binding. My son is a linguist in Serres and my daughter an accountant in Thessaloniki, there is no way they would ever consider continuing my work. The herd will exist only as long as I do".

The fattiest milk

Chris Lainas from Megalochori of Serres, owns 150 buffalos. Around a thousand buffalos are herded in the area. "The female buffalos produce an average of five or six kilos of milk per day, but they can also produce up to ten kilos, depending on what they eat. Part of this milk is for their young and the rest we give our children. We also make some cheese. This milk is very fatty, even more than the sheep milk. Even though it is fatty, it is not heavy and does not make you thirsty. It is not like the sheep milk, which makes you drink water for many hours afterwards. Many people ask us to give them our milk, but unfortunately, there are not enough farm hands to milk the buffalos".

The little buffalo milk given to the merchants, is coveted by some confectioners and cheese makers, who use it to make yogurts and cheeses for their special clientele. The buffalos are calm animals, which eat everything. They never turn their backs on greens, regardless the kind while they love the mud, just like the pigs, because they can't stand the heat. These animals attract the heat and the sunlight because of their dark skin. Despite their thick skin, though, they can't stand the cold either, because there is no fat under it.

Buffalo in the hull

Chris praises the buffalo's meat, which is always boiled at low heat, in contrast to the veal meat, which can also be barbecued. Buffalo cooked in the hull or with oregano is also great dishes, while it can also be turned into minced meat. 

As for cows, the breeder doesn't hold them in high esteem: "They produce a large quantity of milk, 20-30 kilos a day, but it is plain water, there is no comparison to buffalo's milk. The calves are usually butchered within their first year when they have reached 200 kilos. Buffalos grow in a slower pace, and they're butchered when they're sixteen months old and weigh around 100 kilos. We only slay the males, and very rarely the females".

When Chris shepherds his herd he leans on a staff he made himself out of mountain wood. "The beech doesn't last and its wood soon cracks. I prefer the roots. First, I bend them and then I carve them; what else would I do all day". When asked about his thoughts during the endless hours of shepherding the buffalos, he answers: "I play some math games in my mind, that's why I'm so good at maths. I don't need paper to tally when I sell animals".
TEXT-PHOTOS: GEORGE ZAFEIROPOULOS
SOURCE: www.greecewithin.com

MORE PHOTOS

The buffalos often fight with each other.

Apart from buffalos, thousands of cows are also bred in the area.

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