Mountain Sheep Farming under Rozsutec

Sheep husbandry and mountain sheep farming and sheltering (known in Slovak language as ‘salašníctvo’) both stood at the birth of the municipality of Zázrivá and continue to shape its essential part at present. Still, we would certainly wish to see the role of this aspect for our identity and heritage to be represented much more intensively than it is today. The municipality of Zázrivá, the nature of the Malá fatra and Kysucká vrchovina mountain ranges were strongly shaped also by the ways of mountain sheep farming after the arrival of Wallachians (also known as Vlachs), who have left a significant trace in our culture and traditions. Today’ society is increasingly turning back to its roots; we like to search for the original, for the traditional, for the pure and natural. However, in this exercise, we sometimes tend forget the hard work and care that our mountainous lands require. Present lifestyle comes with a number of challenges, opportunities, risks and just like our ancestors in the past, we also have our own day-to-day worries and concerns. Our region offers a great volume of untapped opportunities for taking care of the landscape, agriculture and economy, agritourism, and local produce. Perhaps more so than in the past, we are today trying to follow in the traditional, the well-es-tablished and sustainable. Sheep farming and mountain sheep farming and sheltering (‘salašníctvo’) are an opportunity we should not miss in retaining the local cultural heritage (along with the traditional landscape farming and agriculture) that is closely related to the above.