To cover the many operating costs of his sheepfold, Julien Chieze needs help and is proposing a lamb sponsorship system. In turn, some women from Gard are rallying with the establishment of a kitty and a raffle.
“I will fight to the end for my sheep.” Julien Chieze is not one to give up. The shepherd-farmer based in Saint-Chaptes, but residing in Saint-Geniès-de-Malgoires, is passionate about his profession. However, times are tough and costly. It takes determination to keep moving forward in the face of adversity. The Nîmes native started from scratch in 2023 when he settled with 13 ewes. Fifteen days later, he faced his first setback with the theft, in broad daylight, of three lambs. “I filed a complaint but it didn’t lead to anything. Initially, I always had someone on the field. I raised my son alone because his mother is deceased. It was a lot of stress,” explains Julien.
However, it is not enough to make him regret changing his life: “I was a civil servant at the Caremeau University Hospital and I had a major depression.” Julien then went to recharge in the Cévennes, from where he returned ten years later with a love for sheep. The shepherd-farmer knows how to put professional setbacks into perspective. However, he does not count the hours and does not take any income from his activity. “We live on my partner’s salary,” he says. The expenses are also numerous as they need to take care of the sheep’s health: “The tick product costs 200€ per liter, milk costs 90€ for a lamb, and the blood tests for the herd cost 400€,” he explains.
No right to aid
In addition to this, there are expenses for equipment, veterinary care, shearing, diesel, renting the grazing land, and many other expenses. Not to mention that the herd is growing. “I am not eligible for aid because I am over 40 and I don’t want to take out loans. I submitted a ‘new farmer allowance’ application issued by the Region a year and a half ago, but it still needs to go to the committee. Then it’s almost a year waiting to receive the amount,” he says. The administrative time is not the same as the sheepfold’s, which houses about sixty ewes and thirty lambs. Julien needs a little help.
Annabelle Fabre is the proud godmother of a lamb. Photo: AF So, he sets up a lamb sponsorship system. The sponsor chooses the name of the sheep and can come see it grow. The same goes for the lambs that can be bottle-fed. The forty-year-old man is a modern man and regularly shares his daily life on his Facebook page “Shepherd, my passion, my life,” which has 2,700 followers. It is through this platform that Julien’s situation caught the attention of generous souls.
Starting with Annabelle Fabre who set up an online kitty. “I sponsor a lamb for my eight-year-old son. As soon as we can, we go there to feed it. We try to help as we can. For children, it’s great,” emphasizes the young woman who lives in Gajan. On the side of Codognan, it is Virginie, the manager of the Pop’OlivTattoo shop, who is mobilizing by organizing a raffle: “Animal causes are important to me. I met Julien and his partner because I tattooed them, a kind, hardworking, and truly deserving couple. I am in awe of their work. I managed to sell 61 tickets at 5€ each, and it would be great for sales to take off.” Prizes include a tattoo worth 500€, a tattoo worth 100€, and five flash tattoo cards worth 70€ each. The draw will take place on April 5, Easter day.
“The herd is my antidepressant”
Faced with these initiatives, Julien is admiring and modest: “These are wonderful people.” The Gard native faces it and finds in the animals a way to lift his spirits: “The herd is my antidepressant.” In June, a new adventure awaits Julien as the herd will experience its first transhumance. The ewes will leave Saint-Chaptes to reach the slopes of Mount Aigoual. A sort of return to the roots in the beautiful Cévennes, where everything began for the shepherd-farmer from Gardonnenque.
