0:00:02 > 0:00:04Go on! Yeah, yeah, yeah!
0:00:04 > 0:00:08- Like that? - LAUGHTER
0:00:10 > 0:00:12Look at me. I'm covered.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16'In the most remote places on Earth,
0:00:16 > 0:00:19'people depend on their animals for survival.
0:00:21 > 0:00:25'A few years ago, I moved to a farm in the Welsh hills.
0:00:25 > 0:00:29'I've become fascinated by the bond between shepherd and flock.
0:00:30 > 0:00:34'Now, I'm going to explore this relationship's ancient origins.'
0:00:34 > 0:00:37I could have been standing here 500 years ago
0:00:37 > 0:00:40and witnessed exactly that same scene.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44'And I want to look at the future of herding.'
0:00:44 > 0:00:46There is sex going on in every direction.
0:00:48 > 0:00:50Have I just made a sheep?
0:00:51 > 0:00:55'My journey begins in the mountains of Afghanistan.'
0:00:55 > 0:00:58The air has a real biting chill to it.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02'The shepherds here live as they have done for a thousand years.'
0:01:02 > 0:01:04They're such a smooth ride.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07They seem to have built-in shock absorbers.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11It is an exhausting way of life and it's very cold
0:01:11 > 0:01:14and I would do almost anything for a hot bath.
0:01:15 > 0:01:19The admiration that I have for these people really knows no bounds.
0:01:19 > 0:01:24'I want to look back in time, to experience an ancient way of life,
0:01:24 > 0:01:28'and see if it still has a place in the 21st century.'
0:01:45 > 0:01:48'I'm in transit, heading to the airport
0:01:48 > 0:01:52'and driving along one of the most dangerous roads in the world.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55'Three days ago, a suicide bomber killed 12 ex-pat workers
0:01:55 > 0:01:58'a couple of miles from here.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01'Kabul is a city on the edge.'
0:02:03 > 0:02:06This is the riskiest thing, probably, that we're doing
0:02:06 > 0:02:09on our whole three-week trip.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13You're told all the things to look out for
0:02:13 > 0:02:16and all the things not to do and, erm...
0:02:16 > 0:02:20but once you're here, you still feel slightly helpless
0:02:20 > 0:02:23even though you've put everything in place
0:02:23 > 0:02:26to try and make sure that things are safe.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31'Being here is really unnerving, but I have to pass through Kabul
0:02:31 > 0:02:35'to get to some of the most traditional shepherds on Earth.'
0:02:37 > 0:02:41We're now entering the airport complex, by the looks of things,
0:02:41 > 0:02:46and, erm, you can see, maybe, that it's bristling with security.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50But, cars piled up in one place, does that make us a target?
0:02:50 > 0:02:52You just don't know.
0:03:02 > 0:03:08'After five security checks, we finally get to our charter plane.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11'That's the most stressful part of the journey over,
0:03:11 > 0:03:14'but it's going to take me two more days
0:03:14 > 0:03:17'to get to the shepherds I want to live with.'
0:03:17 > 0:03:22We're going to fly 250 kilometres north-east to the Wakhan Corridor.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26By all accounts, it's a spectacular flight through the mountains
0:03:26 > 0:03:29and it's going to take us to one of the most remote
0:03:29 > 0:03:32and unexplored regions of Afghanistan.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01'This rugged land is one of the last places in the world
0:04:01 > 0:04:04'where you can find truly traditional shepherds
0:04:04 > 0:04:07'whose way of life goes back to ancient times.'
0:04:08 > 0:04:15When you look across at all this incredible natural beauty,
0:04:15 > 0:04:20it's hard to think that when you say the word "Afghanistan"
0:04:20 > 0:04:26to almost anybody, all they think about is war and strife and terror,
0:04:26 > 0:04:30and yet...from here,
0:04:30 > 0:04:37it just looks like a place of indescribable mountainous beauty.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42'We're flying across the western edge of the Himalayas,
0:04:42 > 0:04:45'heading towards the Wakhan Corridor,
0:04:45 > 0:04:47'home of the Wakhi shepherds.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56'This narrow slither of mountainous Afghani territory
0:04:56 > 0:05:00'is a legacy of 19th century imperial rivalry.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04'Britain and Russia declared that their empires must never meet
0:05:04 > 0:05:08'and so the Wakhan Corridor was created as a neutral buffer zone
0:05:08 > 0:05:13'between what is now Tajikistan and Pakistan.'
0:05:22 > 0:05:26We are literally, apparently, somewhere near the airstrip.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29I can't see it. All I can see is rocks and mountains
0:05:29 > 0:05:32and this crazy landscape.
0:05:33 > 0:05:35Oh, my God!
0:05:42 > 0:05:45And we're on the ground.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56Wow. We're in the Wakhan...
0:05:57 > 0:06:00..and there's even a welcoming party.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18Do you want to take it?
0:06:24 > 0:06:26- Salaam.- Salaam.
0:06:26 > 0:06:27Salaam alaikum.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30Salaam alaikum.
0:06:30 > 0:06:35'This region is so remote, it was never captured by the Taliban.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38'There are no soldiers here, no guns.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41'This feels like a completely different country -
0:06:41 > 0:06:43'a different world to Kabul.'
0:06:43 > 0:06:46It's ready? OK. Well, I'm ready.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48Let's go.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53This man, his name?
0:06:53 > 0:06:55Shambey? Shambey.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58- Shambey.- Ah, Shambey.
0:07:06 > 0:07:11'We drive up the Wakhan Valley, passing donkeys and cows.
0:07:11 > 0:07:16'But, as yet, there's no sign of any sheep or any shepherds.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23'We're now 3,000 metres above sea level.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26'It feels like the roof of the world.'
0:07:26 > 0:07:30The air is clear and crisp and sharp
0:07:30 > 0:07:33and a landscape that just takes your breath away.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37You don't really think there are places like this left in the world.
0:07:37 > 0:07:42Down in the valley here is the heartland of the Wakhan communities
0:07:42 > 0:07:46but no sign of the sheep that basically allow these people
0:07:46 > 0:07:51to survive in a spectacular but, nonetheless, harsh environment.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53So where are those sheep?
0:07:53 > 0:07:57Well, in the summer, they're driven up, staggeringly,
0:07:57 > 0:08:02over those mountains into what is called the Big Pamir -
0:08:02 > 0:08:04these huge valleys.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07To go and find the Wakhan shepherds, I've got to go there too.
0:08:11 > 0:08:16'The Wakhi have lived in this valley for 2,500 years or more.
0:08:16 > 0:08:21'Wheat is the staple crop and mid-September is harvest time.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25'It feels like I've stepped into the Middle Ages.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29'The valley is only a few miles wide.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33'There's no room to graze sheep as well as grow crops
0:08:33 > 0:08:36'so, earlier in the summer, the Wakhi divided into two teams.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40'Some stayed down here in their villages to farm,
0:08:40 > 0:08:44'while others went up to the mountain pastures to herd.
0:08:45 > 0:08:50'It's a tough, 20-mile trek up to the shepherds.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53'The film crew and I are not exactly travelling light
0:08:53 > 0:08:56'so we've hired some pack animals and their owners
0:08:56 > 0:09:00'to help us on the final leg of our journey.'
0:09:04 > 0:09:07We've got nine yaks and four horses
0:09:07 > 0:09:11but there's me, there's the crew, and then our support team
0:09:11 > 0:09:15and all the guys who are looking after their animals.
0:09:15 > 0:09:20Suddenly, our little band has swollen to a good number of people.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42'Yaks are the Wakhis' 4x4s.
0:09:42 > 0:09:46'These hairy, cow-like beasts can cover almost any terrain,
0:09:46 > 0:09:49'though at a rather gentle, sedate pace.'
0:09:56 > 0:10:00It's this route that many of the Wakhan shepherds
0:10:00 > 0:10:03will take at the beginning of every summer...
0:10:04 > 0:10:08..to bring their flocks up to the good grazing lands.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14'These mountain paths were once used by merchants
0:10:14 > 0:10:17'following the Silk Road from Europe to China.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20'Marco Polo passed close by.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23'He described how wild animal horns marked the route
0:10:23 > 0:10:26'and it doesn't look like much has changed
0:10:26 > 0:10:29'since he was here almost 800 years ago.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39'After trekking for six hours, we're halfway to the summer pastures.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42'We stop for the night at a shepherds' hut.'
0:10:58 > 0:11:00'I wake up to a light dusting of snow.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04'My first night under canvas was very cold
0:11:04 > 0:11:09'and the thin mountain air is having a strange effect on my body.'
0:11:10 > 0:11:14I'm doing this because we're at 4,000 metres
0:11:14 > 0:11:17and I always swell up at altitude. It's nice isn't it?
0:11:18 > 0:11:21'But there's no time to worry about a puffy face.'
0:11:24 > 0:11:28If snow has reached the areas where the shepherds are,
0:11:28 > 0:11:32they might be thinking about packing up and moving to lower elevations
0:11:32 > 0:11:36so the big worry at this stage is that we've done this climb
0:11:36 > 0:11:39for nothing, and that the shepherds would have already moved.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47'I want to get to the pastures as soon as possible
0:11:47 > 0:11:49'so we pick up the pace.
0:11:59 > 0:12:00'We stop to rest the animals
0:12:00 > 0:12:04'and I show the men some pictures from my farm.'
0:12:04 > 0:12:05LAUGHTER
0:12:05 > 0:12:08These are Welsh sheep, not Wakhan sheep!
0:12:09 > 0:12:13'With all the troubles in the rest of Afghanistan,
0:12:13 > 0:12:16'I want to know what life is like for the Wakhi.'
0:12:16 > 0:12:19Is it very hard up in the mountains?
0:12:46 > 0:12:49'The Wakhi may be far from the horrors of war,
0:12:49 > 0:12:52'but living here is by no means easy.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57'At 4,600 metres
0:12:57 > 0:13:01'we get our first spectacular view of the mountain pastures
0:13:01 > 0:13:03'known as the Big Pamir.'
0:13:06 > 0:13:10This is what we've climbed to see.
0:13:10 > 0:13:14This giant U-shaped valley,
0:13:14 > 0:13:17a flat expanse of rich grazing land
0:13:17 > 0:13:23and every bit of it will be used by the Wakhan shepherds.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27'There may be plenty of space for animals
0:13:27 > 0:13:31'but it looks more like a moonscape than lush pasture.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37'We drop down into the Big Pamir.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42'Ahead of us, at last, is Mulung-dhan -
0:13:42 > 0:13:44'one of the Wakhis' summer camps.
0:13:44 > 0:13:48'I want to find out what it's like to herd in a world
0:13:48 > 0:13:50'that is very different from mine.
0:13:50 > 0:13:54'And this is a far cry from the Welsh hills.'
0:13:54 > 0:13:58The Wakhan have an association and we have one of the members
0:13:58 > 0:14:01travelling with us and he's gone ahead on a horse
0:14:01 > 0:14:03to let the village know that we are arriving
0:14:03 > 0:14:07and, hopefully, to give us permission to enter the village.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11As you can see, there are definitely sheep here so that's a good thing.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15However, what's not so good is what's coming along the valley
0:14:15 > 0:14:19behind us, which looks like the beginnings of a snowstorm.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22So I think we have to hope that they will let us stay
0:14:22 > 0:14:24at least for one night.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35Salaam alaikum.
0:14:35 > 0:14:37Salaam.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40'We've been given the OK to stay in the camp.'
0:14:40 > 0:14:42Salaam alaikum.
0:14:45 > 0:14:47Wow.
0:14:47 > 0:14:49Salaam alaikum.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05Salaam alaikum.
0:15:06 > 0:15:07Salaam alaikum.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11So this is your son?
0:15:11 > 0:15:13Yeah. And this...?
0:15:15 > 0:15:17And your son. And this...?
0:15:18 > 0:15:20This is your husband.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32I love their decoration.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38'Some old sweet wrappers add a splash of colour to the yurt.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46'Choi - local tea - is prepared.'
0:15:46 > 0:15:49So this is salt?
0:15:49 > 0:15:53- This is milk.- Yeah. - This is tea.- Yeah.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56'Salty tea may not sound very appetising,
0:15:56 > 0:15:59'but I'm desperate for a cuppa.'
0:15:59 > 0:16:02Oh...so good.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06What's the word for...?
0:16:06 > 0:16:09What is it? Hod...? For good?
0:16:09 > 0:16:11Delicious?
0:16:21 > 0:16:24'Flat bread, baked in the fire, is handed out.'
0:16:24 > 0:16:26- Very nice bread.- Very nice bread.
0:16:26 > 0:16:31'Visitors, however unexpected, are always made to feel welcome.'
0:16:33 > 0:16:35How often do you do the milking?
0:16:41 > 0:16:43Shall I come and help you?
0:16:46 > 0:16:48- Yes.- Is that OK?- Yes.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50You must be my teacher!
0:17:09 > 0:17:13The sheep and the yaks are just coming in for the night.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18And they go into the enclosures, is that right? Yeah.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21Why do you bring them in at night?
0:17:34 > 0:17:36'There's a price to pay
0:17:36 > 0:17:39'for bringing animals up to this mountain wilderness.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41'Predators.
0:17:52 > 0:17:58'The temperature plummets to -15 degrees centigrade.
0:17:59 > 0:18:04'It's too cold for the shepherds to stay up and guard their animals
0:18:04 > 0:18:06'but the flock is not without protection.
0:18:07 > 0:18:11'Dogs have taken care of the nightshift.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15'These are not pets. They spend their lives outside.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17'And their ears are clipped short
0:18:17 > 0:18:20'so predators cannot latch onto them in a fight.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23'As well as wolves, the shepherds and their dogs
0:18:23 > 0:18:27'need to protect the flock from snow leopards and bears.'
0:18:28 > 0:18:33What is the most dangerous animal for you
0:18:33 > 0:18:35when you are living up here in the Pamir?
0:18:56 > 0:19:00'Last year, wolves killed eight animals here in Mulung-dhan.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04'The Wakhis' herds are key to their survival, and this kind of loss
0:19:04 > 0:19:07'can seriously affect a family's chance
0:19:07 > 0:19:10'of making it through the winter.
0:19:23 > 0:19:29'Every day, just after sunrise, the herd is driven out onto the hills.'
0:19:39 > 0:19:45I'm going out today with one of the men of the village,
0:19:45 > 0:19:49Panchambey, whose name means "Thursday".
0:19:52 > 0:19:57'Only a few of these animals actually belong to Panchambey.
0:19:57 > 0:19:59'The men take it in turns to go out shepherding
0:19:59 > 0:20:03'so today he's in charge of the whole flock,
0:20:03 > 0:20:05'all 200 of them.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11'We climb up the valley, far from the camp,
0:20:11 > 0:20:14'but I can't see any improvement in the pasture.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17'The grass is still low, brown and scrubby.'
0:20:19 > 0:20:25This isn't a lush green Welsh pasture like my sheep are used to
0:20:25 > 0:20:30and, yet, these animals look like they are in the peak of condition -
0:20:30 > 0:20:34they are fat, they look healthy
0:20:34 > 0:20:38and something that I'm incredibly envious of
0:20:38 > 0:20:42is that not a single one of them is limping.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46'It's been really wet back at home.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49'My sheep have been plagued by foot rot.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53'But none of these animals are showing any sign of it.
0:20:53 > 0:20:57'Sheep were first domesticated in the hills of Turkey, Iran
0:20:57 > 0:21:00'and Iraq around 12,000 years ago,
0:21:00 > 0:21:05'and they do seem to thrive in this kind of dry, mountainous terrain.'
0:21:09 > 0:21:12Come on, you lot at the back!
0:21:12 > 0:21:17'But summer is nearly over. There is a long, lean winter ahead.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21'These sheep have adapted to a life of feast and famine
0:21:21 > 0:21:24'by storing reserves in their fatty hind-quarters.'
0:21:24 > 0:21:26There you go.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30I still quite can't get over this.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33Something vaguely obscene about those bottoms!
0:21:35 > 0:21:38'After a morning grazing on the slopes,
0:21:38 > 0:21:42'the animals are brought back to the camp to be milked.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48'One of the women, Nisa,
0:21:48 > 0:21:51'is struggling to get used to our strange ways.'
0:22:02 > 0:22:06'Young animals are kept apart from their mothers during the day,
0:22:06 > 0:22:11'to stop them drinking all the milk, but they are briefly reunited now.'
0:22:11 > 0:22:14They allow the lambs to keep feeding...
0:22:15 > 0:22:18..to stimulate the production of the milk
0:22:18 > 0:22:20but they also take some themselves.
0:22:22 > 0:22:26'It's a very efficient system. Lambs are kept happy and healthy
0:22:26 > 0:22:30'and the women get as much milk as possible.'
0:22:31 > 0:22:34There's something really lovely about being with people
0:22:34 > 0:22:39who handle animals with such...
0:22:39 > 0:22:43sort of, confidence and... I mean, it really is second nature.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56'These sheep are much tamer than the ones on my farm.
0:22:56 > 0:23:01'I only breed mine for meat so they're hardly ever handled
0:23:01 > 0:23:03'and I never milk them.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05So, will you explain, what do I do?
0:23:06 > 0:23:09OK, so you take the udder,
0:23:09 > 0:23:11Like this?
0:23:11 > 0:23:14Like that? Yeah.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16Oh, it's working.
0:23:17 > 0:23:19Is this good? What do you think?
0:23:21 > 0:23:23Very slow.
0:23:26 > 0:23:27Nothing there!
0:23:28 > 0:23:30So this one is done now?
0:23:35 > 0:23:40You can see already she's got impatient with my pathetic efforts.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01'The animals are driven back out onto the slopes.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04'They'll spend the rest of the day grazing
0:24:04 > 0:24:07'before they're brought home for the night.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13'The next job is bread baking.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15'First, we need fuel for the fire.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18'There are no trees up this high,
0:24:18 > 0:24:21'but there's a never-ending supply of yak dung.'
0:24:28 > 0:24:32'The herders come back to this camp every year
0:24:32 > 0:24:35'so there are stone huts here as well as yurts.'
0:24:38 > 0:24:41It's quite smoky in here, isn't it?
0:24:41 > 0:24:44The dung, it makes a lot of smoke in your eyes.
0:24:49 > 0:24:55So it is flour, water, salt.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59The lid goes on.
0:25:00 > 0:25:07So you put the hot dung on top of the lid and that cooks the bread.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14Bread with tea is the Wakhi staple.
0:25:14 > 0:25:18It's the only thing many people eat for breakfast, lunch,
0:25:18 > 0:25:23and dinner, day after day, week after week.
0:25:45 > 0:25:49'Traders from the west of the province arrive in camp.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53'It's taken them 25 days to cross the mountains.'
0:25:54 > 0:25:56Why did you come here?
0:26:00 > 0:26:03So are there many traders like you
0:26:03 > 0:26:06that come to this area to buy animals?
0:26:10 > 0:26:17Do you come here because the Wakhi people have very good animals?
0:26:25 > 0:26:28'These men may get a good deal up here,
0:26:28 > 0:26:31'but this is the only way the Wakhi have of earning any money.
0:26:31 > 0:26:36'Nisa has a few yaks, and she sold one to the trader.'
0:26:37 > 0:26:42So are you happy today because you sold a yak?
0:26:47 > 0:26:51- She said, I'm unhappy. - You are unhappy? Why?
0:26:54 > 0:26:58So she... This was a good yak for her? She didn't want to sell?
0:27:11 > 0:27:15'As well as providing everyday necessities like milk and wool,
0:27:15 > 0:27:19'the family's animals can be cashed in when times are hard.
0:27:19 > 0:27:23'As long as they have their herd, they have the means to survive.'
0:27:23 > 0:27:27- She wants you to spin the wool. - I might break it. I might break it.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32LAUGHTER
0:27:32 > 0:27:35How do I do it? It's gone very thick here.
0:27:40 > 0:27:42You're not helping at all.
0:27:47 > 0:27:49'The shepherds are highly mobile,
0:27:49 > 0:27:53'migrating as the cold weather starts to set in.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56'The Wakhi call these journeys the "kuch"
0:27:56 > 0:28:00'and I've come here at the end of summer hoping to take part in one.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03'Mulung-dhan is low down and sheltered
0:28:03 > 0:28:06'and no-one has any plans to move yet.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08'But we've heard there is another camp
0:28:08 > 0:28:11'where the people are getting ready to make a kuch
0:28:11 > 0:28:15'so we pack our bags and say our goodbyes.'
0:28:17 > 0:28:19Thank you.
0:28:29 > 0:28:34The village that we're heading to now is the highest of all of them.
0:28:34 > 0:28:38It's tucked right up at the base of the mountains at the snow line...
0:28:40 > 0:28:45..so if anyone's thinking of moving for the winter,
0:28:45 > 0:28:49I would imagine it would be this community that moves first.
0:29:00 > 0:29:05'Our destination is 4,500 metres above sea level
0:29:05 > 0:29:08'and is the most remote settlement in the Big Pamir.'
0:29:10 > 0:29:15We're getting our first glimpse of the village now...
0:29:17 > 0:29:21..and it is noticeably higher, not just because my legs ache
0:29:21 > 0:29:25but because the air has a real biting chill to it.
0:29:25 > 0:29:27The sun may be bright
0:29:27 > 0:29:31but the wind is coming straight off those snowy peaks.
0:29:39 > 0:29:42'The village is called Asan Katich.
0:29:42 > 0:29:44'About 50 people live here,
0:29:44 > 0:29:47'so it's almost twice the size of Mulung-dhan.
0:29:47 > 0:29:51'And we're in luck. They're getting ready to move - to make a kuch.
0:29:52 > 0:29:55'But there's a problem.
0:29:55 > 0:29:59'Yesterday, we sent someone ahead to ask if we could film here,
0:29:59 > 0:30:01'and we were given the OK,
0:30:01 > 0:30:05'but, now, some of the men seem less keen.
0:30:15 > 0:30:18'We spend the rest of the day talking things through,
0:30:18 > 0:30:21'waiting for a final decision.
0:30:26 > 0:30:30'In a way, I totally understand the men's reluctance.
0:30:30 > 0:30:33'How would we react if strangers turned up at our homes
0:30:33 > 0:30:35'and asked to film us?
0:30:35 > 0:30:38'But we were given such a warm welcome back in Mulung-dhan,
0:30:38 > 0:30:42'it seems strange that things could be so different up here.'
0:30:43 > 0:30:47It may be that this is just a very remote community.
0:30:47 > 0:30:50Even their village in the valley is very remote.
0:30:50 > 0:30:53They won't have seen a lot of foreigners
0:30:53 > 0:30:56and so we think that, quite understandably,
0:30:56 > 0:30:59when we all turn up they just think, "What are you doing here?"
0:30:59 > 0:31:03And what we hope is that, maybe tomorrow,
0:31:03 > 0:31:07they might feel more comfortable about us filming.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22'Next morning, things are still a bit tense.
0:31:22 > 0:31:27'The men tell us we can film in the camp, but the women are off limits.
0:31:28 > 0:31:32'But not everyone is happy with this decision.'
0:31:32 > 0:31:35Some of the women in the village have said, "Don't tell a soul.
0:31:35 > 0:31:37"Go and get a camera, come and film us."
0:31:37 > 0:31:40So that's what I'm going to do.
0:31:41 > 0:31:44WHISPERING
0:31:46 > 0:31:49'All they are doing is making bread
0:31:49 > 0:31:52'but they have a mischievous look in their eye.
0:32:17 > 0:32:20'One of the women walks behind me to look at the camera's flip-out screen.'
0:32:33 > 0:32:36'I put the camera away before we're discovered.
0:32:38 > 0:32:42'Then, a woman called Bakht Begum says she wants to show me
0:32:42 > 0:32:45'how to make food for the winter.
0:32:45 > 0:32:50'No-one, it seems, tells this lady what she can or cannot do.
0:32:53 > 0:32:55'I'm immediately put to work.'
0:32:55 > 0:32:58So...in here...
0:32:58 > 0:33:01we have boiled milk
0:33:01 > 0:33:04and we churn it and what do we make?
0:33:10 > 0:33:14- Making the butter now. - Making the batter now? Ah, OK.
0:33:15 > 0:33:18And we have this ingenious system
0:33:18 > 0:33:22of a...sort of, paddle, erm...
0:33:22 > 0:33:25and this leather strap.
0:33:27 > 0:33:31And we're churning it for, I'm not quite sure how long,
0:33:31 > 0:33:34I'm not quite sure how long I'm going to be able to last.
0:33:34 > 0:33:37She's incredibly strong and very feisty, this woman.
0:33:43 > 0:33:46You want me to do it now by myself?
0:33:48 > 0:33:50I'm not sure this is going to work. Let's see.
0:33:50 > 0:33:53Like that, like that.
0:33:57 > 0:33:59It's very hard.
0:34:01 > 0:34:03I'm exhausted!
0:34:05 > 0:34:10It seems that the summer is the time when all the dairy produce
0:34:10 > 0:34:15that they make is all made up here in the mountains
0:34:15 > 0:34:20and then stored and taken down to the village for the winter.
0:34:23 > 0:34:28'After many hours of churning, the fat of the milk separates out.'
0:34:28 > 0:34:33So this is the butter. It comes from here? Aha!
0:34:33 > 0:34:37'The remaining butter milk is boiled again for a few hours
0:34:37 > 0:34:39'and allowed to cool.
0:34:39 > 0:34:41'The water is then squeezed out,
0:34:41 > 0:34:45'leaving a moist, yoghurt-like paste called qurut.'
0:34:45 > 0:34:47Can I try?
0:34:49 > 0:34:52Mmm! Very good,
0:34:52 > 0:34:54Very good yoghurt.
0:34:54 > 0:34:57So it is a complete dairy - yoghurt, butter.
0:34:57 > 0:34:59'Nothing is wasted.
0:34:59 > 0:35:03'Stale bread goes into the leftover residue and is given to the dogs.'
0:35:05 > 0:35:08The dogs are going to get well fed tonight.
0:35:13 > 0:35:18'Everyone's been busy packing up, getting ready for the kuch.
0:35:18 > 0:35:22'The chief has come up from the main village in the valley to oversee things.
0:35:22 > 0:35:26'Crucially for us, he seems very relaxed that we are here
0:35:26 > 0:35:29'and he gives us his full support.
0:35:49 > 0:35:54'We're given the OK just as the herd is driven back for milking
0:35:54 > 0:35:58'and, as if by magic, the women appear.'
0:36:13 > 0:36:17What's so incredible is that you have kids as young as this
0:36:17 > 0:36:23all helping, all manoeuvring the sheep and the goats,
0:36:23 > 0:36:27and you can see that they literally learn their craft
0:36:27 > 0:36:30from the moment they can walk.
0:36:35 > 0:36:38'But the young workers do get the odd break.
0:36:38 > 0:36:41'Little girls have no dolls to dress
0:36:41 > 0:36:43'so they make do with goats instead.'
0:37:00 > 0:37:03So our breakthrough came.
0:37:03 > 0:37:07I'm so delighted that we're able to film here
0:37:07 > 0:37:11and, the day after tomorrow, the whole village is going to move
0:37:11 > 0:37:15and we'll get a sense of the true scale of the kuch
0:37:15 > 0:37:19when everybody and all their livestock move down into the valley.
0:37:32 > 0:37:36'The kuch will move the camp to a lower, more sheltered spot.
0:37:36 > 0:37:39'But there's still lots of work to do before we leave.
0:37:39 > 0:37:41'The women take to the roof
0:37:41 > 0:37:44'for the next stage of winter food production.
0:37:48 > 0:37:51'The qurut paste, made from boiled buttermilk,
0:37:51 > 0:37:55'has been drained and now needs to dry.'
0:37:55 > 0:37:58This, you roll it and put in the sun?
0:38:05 > 0:38:08'From milking to churning to drying,
0:38:08 > 0:38:11'making qurut is what this time of year is all about.'
0:38:11 > 0:38:15So this is an important product
0:38:15 > 0:38:18that you make while you're here in the summer?
0:38:37 > 0:38:40It actually...it tastes like feta.
0:38:40 > 0:38:44It's a kind of salty, soft, almost a cheese.
0:38:44 > 0:38:46You don't really taste it like yoghurt.
0:38:46 > 0:38:48They're very good.
0:38:49 > 0:38:53'The qurut is dried and bagged up. It should last for six months -
0:38:53 > 0:38:58'just long enough to see everyone through the winter.'
0:39:08 > 0:39:11I don't want it to fall on your head.
0:39:11 > 0:39:15'The migration is going to be in two waves.
0:39:15 > 0:39:17'An advance party will leave today.
0:39:17 > 0:39:20'Everyone else, including Bakht Begum and myself,
0:39:20 > 0:39:23'will follow on tomorrow.
0:39:23 > 0:39:26'There's a lot of work to be done. The pressure is on.'
0:39:28 > 0:39:31Faster? OK.
0:39:34 > 0:39:38'Their livestock provide the Wakhi with almost everything they need.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41'Wool is compressed into felt panels.
0:39:41 > 0:39:44'Yak hair is twisted into ropes.
0:39:44 > 0:39:48'And the animals themselves are removal vans.'
0:39:54 > 0:39:57You know that feeling when you're trying to pack up the car
0:39:57 > 0:40:01and someone says, "Shall I help?", and you just want to go, "No, let me get on and do it."
0:40:01 > 0:40:04That's what's happening at the moment.
0:40:05 > 0:40:08This guy is saying, "Well, why don't I put this sack on?"
0:40:08 > 0:40:11And he's going, "I don't want the sack. I want something else.
0:40:11 > 0:40:13"Get that sack!"
0:40:13 > 0:40:15LAUGHTER
0:40:25 > 0:40:31'The advance party sets off down the Pamir, heading for warmer pastures.'
0:40:35 > 0:40:38Last minute things that have been forgotten.
0:40:38 > 0:40:41"Hang on a minute, you've left your coat!"
0:40:47 > 0:40:52I could have been standing here 500 years ago
0:40:52 > 0:40:54and witnessed exactly that same scene.
0:41:14 > 0:41:18'Next morning, winter is beginning to bite.
0:41:18 > 0:41:21'The snow makes it hard for the animals to graze
0:41:21 > 0:41:24'so the herd is immediately driven down the valley.'
0:41:29 > 0:41:34We've been here about 10 days now.
0:41:36 > 0:41:40It is an exhausting...way of life.
0:41:42 > 0:41:46And doing anything at this altitude just wears you out.
0:41:46 > 0:41:49It's like someone's put bricks in the bottom of your boots.
0:41:49 > 0:41:53And, erm, I look at these guys
0:41:53 > 0:41:58and the women, who seem totally tireless.
0:42:00 > 0:42:05'But there's lots to be done and I try to make myself useful.
0:42:10 > 0:42:13'The women and children are wearing their finest clothes,
0:42:13 > 0:42:16'giving the occasion a festival air.'
0:42:28 > 0:42:32Are you pleased to be moving?
0:42:32 > 0:42:35WOMAN TRANSLATES
0:42:56 > 0:43:00Really? Not feeling so good today?
0:43:01 > 0:43:06'Finally, the most important cargo of all - a summer's worth of qurut
0:43:06 > 0:43:07'and butter.'
0:43:07 > 0:43:09This is a precious load.
0:43:09 > 0:43:14That represents hours and hours and hours of really physical labour.
0:43:20 > 0:43:24Oh! It's like sitting on a sofa with legs.
0:43:25 > 0:43:28'The yurts are down, the yaks are loaded.
0:43:28 > 0:43:31'and our kuch begins.'
0:43:55 > 0:43:58They're such a smooth ride.
0:43:58 > 0:44:01They seem to have built-in shock-absorbers,
0:44:01 > 0:44:05so, even over this very rough terrain,
0:44:05 > 0:44:08you feel like you're almost floating over it.
0:44:16 > 0:44:20So we get off here? Yeah? OK.
0:44:21 > 0:44:23Thanks you, yak.
0:44:23 > 0:44:25So we stay here? OK.
0:44:25 > 0:44:30So, I think what's happening, in the good tradition of any house move
0:44:30 > 0:44:32is that there will be tea.
0:44:35 > 0:44:39Wow, look at this! Ah, it's a perfect picnic.
0:44:39 > 0:44:42Tashakur.
0:44:42 > 0:44:45'We've passed close to another herding camp.
0:44:45 > 0:44:49'The women come out bearing tea and bread.
0:44:50 > 0:44:53'Only a few hundred Wakhi shepherds live up here,
0:44:53 > 0:44:55'spread out across a huge area.
0:44:55 > 0:44:59'Moments like these forge bonds between disparate communities.'
0:45:03 > 0:45:05OK.
0:45:11 > 0:45:15This feels like such an ancient tradition...
0:45:17 > 0:45:20..that has been held on to
0:45:20 > 0:45:24not for any romantic reasons,
0:45:24 > 0:45:28simply reasons that are practical.
0:45:28 > 0:45:31This is how these people live.
0:45:36 > 0:45:40'It's mid-afternoon by the time we get to Vagboy,
0:45:40 > 0:45:44'a temporary herding camp at the foot of a huge scree slope.'
0:45:47 > 0:45:50You can see already that there's more pasture,
0:45:50 > 0:45:53there's more grass down here.
0:45:53 > 0:45:55It's definitely warmer.
0:45:55 > 0:45:57And, erm...
0:45:57 > 0:46:00so now is the big task of settling in,
0:46:00 > 0:46:02re-putting up the yurts
0:46:02 > 0:46:05and, erm, yeah...
0:46:05 > 0:46:08making ourselves at home.
0:46:18 > 0:46:23'It's much harder putting a yurt up than taking it down.
0:46:23 > 0:46:26'They are giant, 3D jigsaw puzzles.
0:46:26 > 0:46:28'Get the wrong pole in the wrong place
0:46:28 > 0:46:32'and you have to start again from scratch.'
0:46:38 > 0:46:39Are you OK?
0:46:39 > 0:46:43'I help Bakht Begum move into the hut that will be her home
0:46:43 > 0:46:46'for the next few weeks.
0:46:52 > 0:46:55'The herd is driven into camp.
0:46:55 > 0:46:59'Nothing gets in the way of milking.
0:47:10 > 0:47:13'A few hours later, all the yurts are up
0:47:13 > 0:47:17'and the smell of burning yak dung fills the air.'
0:47:17 > 0:47:20So what are you cooking, Begum?
0:47:28 > 0:47:31'This meal is only made on important occasions -
0:47:31 > 0:47:35'religious festivals, funerals and at the end of a kuch.'
0:47:35 > 0:47:38What have you put in here?
0:47:41 > 0:47:45A special oil, flour,
0:47:45 > 0:47:48- A little bit of salt. - A little bit of salt.
0:47:52 > 0:47:54- Very warm?- Yes.
0:47:58 > 0:48:00Mmm!
0:48:00 > 0:48:03Very good, very good.
0:48:05 > 0:48:10What seems so special about this dish is that
0:48:10 > 0:48:14it combines all the things that the Wakhi produce.
0:48:14 > 0:48:17They produce the wheat and barley down in the valley
0:48:17 > 0:48:19that makes the flour.
0:48:19 > 0:48:23They milk the sheep that makes the butter that makes the oil.
0:48:23 > 0:48:26So everything in this bowl is really...
0:48:26 > 0:48:30it's like all the Wakhi produce brought together.
0:48:35 > 0:48:38Definitely, on a cold winter's night,
0:48:38 > 0:48:41if somebody gave you a bowl of this, you would not complain.
0:48:41 > 0:48:43It's very good.
0:48:43 > 0:48:44Tashakur.
0:48:55 > 0:49:00'Life quickly returns to its normal routine.
0:49:13 > 0:49:16'Mamad Ayoub is repairing felt panels
0:49:16 > 0:49:18'that were damaged on the kuch.
0:49:18 > 0:49:23'This way of life feels timeless. But how long will it last?'
0:49:24 > 0:49:29Do you think that your son's children
0:49:29 > 0:49:34will want to come to the Pamir to be shepherds?
0:49:47 > 0:49:52Is there one thing that you think
0:49:52 > 0:49:56would make life easier for the Wakhan?
0:50:23 > 0:50:28'The Wakhan Corridor is the poorest district in the poorest province
0:50:28 > 0:50:31'in one of the poorest countries in the world.
0:50:31 > 0:50:34'It's hard to see how things can change,
0:50:34 > 0:50:36'how life here could be made easier.
0:50:36 > 0:50:39'It feels like the future for the Wakhi
0:50:39 > 0:50:43'for the next few decades at least, will be much the same as their past.
0:50:46 > 0:50:50'The constant struggle to survive does take its toll.'
0:50:50 > 0:50:52Is this a very hard life?
0:51:11 > 0:51:13Seven children?
0:51:37 > 0:51:41'As many as one in five Wakhi children die
0:51:41 > 0:51:44'before they reach their first birthday.
0:51:48 > 0:51:52'Half of Wakhi children under two are malnourished.
0:51:53 > 0:51:55'Because of the harsh conditions,
0:51:55 > 0:52:00'average life expectancy for the Wakhi is only 35 years of age.
0:52:11 > 0:52:15'Bakht Begum's life story is heart-rending,
0:52:15 > 0:52:19'so I'm touched when she says she now thinks of me
0:52:19 > 0:52:21'as her honorary daughter.'
0:52:35 > 0:52:38I feel very honoured to be Feroza.
0:52:43 > 0:52:47'Bakht Begum has no children up here to look after her
0:52:47 > 0:52:49'and she has few animals of her own,
0:52:49 > 0:52:53'but she has been lent some sheep and goats by wealthier herders.
0:52:53 > 0:52:57'She can milk them, and breed from them, before eventually
0:52:57 > 0:53:00'returning the animals to their rightful owners.
0:53:00 > 0:53:04'So she always has something to eat and something to do.
0:53:08 > 0:53:11'In the absence of any outside help,
0:53:11 > 0:53:15'the Wakhi have created a simple but effective welfare system.
0:53:47 > 0:53:50'It's my last day in the Pamir.
0:53:52 > 0:53:57'We've bought a sheep and are throwing a farewell feast.
0:53:57 > 0:54:02'The chief blesses the knife and the sheep's throat is cut.'
0:54:05 > 0:54:10The fleece has come off in one very neat piece.
0:54:10 > 0:54:15I'm envious of their, erm, butchery skills.
0:54:18 > 0:54:23'When we kill a lamb in the UK, we throw as much as a fifth of it away.
0:54:23 > 0:54:28'Here, everything goes in the pot - brains, lungs, heart.
0:54:28 > 0:54:31'Every last drop of blood is savoured.'
0:54:36 > 0:54:38Tashakur.
0:54:38 > 0:54:40Salaam, salaam!
0:54:43 > 0:54:47'Animals are only slaughtered on special occasions like marriages.
0:54:47 > 0:54:50'They're too valuable to eat otherwise.'
0:55:06 > 0:55:10'People here are lucky if they eat meat once a month.
0:55:10 > 0:55:12'At home we take it for granted,
0:55:12 > 0:55:16'often eating meat once or twice a day.
0:55:20 > 0:55:23'It's time to leave the Big Pamir.
0:55:25 > 0:55:30'It's been a real privilege to have experienced, for a short while,
0:55:30 > 0:55:32'how the Wakhi shepherds live.
0:55:32 > 0:55:36'But it's incredibly tough up here and, I have to admit,
0:55:36 > 0:55:40'the thought of a few home comforts is rather appealing.'
0:55:40 > 0:55:42I haven't washed for three weeks.
0:55:42 > 0:55:46There are no loos that flush or otherwise
0:55:46 > 0:55:49for probably...a good 100 miles or so from here.
0:55:51 > 0:55:54And at this stage in the game, am I looking forward to
0:55:54 > 0:55:59a nice clean bathroom, a hot shower, a cup of tea and a sofa?
0:55:59 > 0:56:02I'd be totally lying if I said I wasn't.
0:56:04 > 0:56:08One thing I will miss will be Bakht Begum's friendship.
0:56:21 > 0:56:23Tashakur.
0:56:30 > 0:56:33'The Wakhi may be some of the most traditional herders in the world,
0:56:33 > 0:56:37'but there are lessons we can learn from them.
0:56:37 > 0:56:41'As more and more sheep are raised worldwide, using new technology
0:56:41 > 0:56:46'and modern methods, I hope we don't forget all of the old ways -
0:56:46 > 0:56:48'about how to value our animals
0:56:48 > 0:56:51'and use them efficiently and respectfully.'
0:56:52 > 0:56:56There's something very heartening, I think, that in a country
0:56:56 > 0:57:01that is racked by war and religious strife and poverty,
0:57:01 > 0:57:06in a world that is upside-down and sometimes, kind of, too miserable
0:57:06 > 0:57:11to contemplate, there are these people in these mountains
0:57:11 > 0:57:17surviving, actually, with dignity and with honour
0:57:17 > 0:57:23with no guns, with no strife,
0:57:23 > 0:57:27with no battles, just the battles with the elements
0:57:27 > 0:57:31and the battles of keeping their animals alive.
0:57:32 > 0:57:35'There is nothing romantic about this way of life,
0:57:35 > 0:57:39'but it is inspiring to discover that the ancient connection
0:57:39 > 0:57:42'between shepherd and flock still exists,
0:57:42 > 0:57:46'allowing both to survive in such a harsh, unforgiving land.'
0:57:46 > 0:57:49Thank you for letting us stay in your village.
0:57:55 > 0:57:57Thank you.
0:57:57 > 0:58:00Oh, it's wider than I thought!
0:58:05 > 0:58:10'My journey to remote herding communities doesn't end here.
0:58:11 > 0:58:14'Next time, I travel to the High Andes
0:58:14 > 0:58:17'where I get to grips with alpacas.'
0:58:17 > 0:58:20Aqui! Aqui! There you go. There you go.
0:58:20 > 0:58:24'Peru is at a crossroads between old and new ways of herding.
0:58:24 > 0:58:29'Can ancient tradition compete against science and technology?'
0:58:29 > 0:58:32What I'm going for is what I go for when I pick a racehorse,
0:58:32 > 0:58:35which is a pretty face and a nice bum.
0:58:52 > 0:58:56Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd