Farisiya: Pasture is very poor
The shepherd families of Farisiya are located west of settler-colony Rotem and west of the area that the State of Israel hands over to a pirate ranch of settler-colonists.
The grazing grounds which Palestinian shepherds still have are extremely reduced, and even inside them the shepherds must maneuver, lest some mini-tractor of a one of the ranchers or his ‘boys’ arrive and begin harassing the animals or chasing away the shepherd.
On a day when Israeli accompaniers arrive, the shepherd leads his flock more freely to areas further away.
The present time presents great hardship – the first rain fell only last weekend and most of the hills, slopes and valleys still hardly show any signs of grass for the flock.
For about 6 hours the flock munches about 1 kilogram of food, and another 3 kg are given to it back in the pen. The shepherd asks me to read him the weather forecast for next few days, and we agree that if there is some chance of rain fall, we’ll speak on the phone.