The woman, who lived on the outskirts of Paris, decided to move to the village of Aldeia Rica, in the municipality of Celorico da Beira, in the Serra da Estrela area, in September 2002.
Beatrice, who was an accountant in France, chose to settle in a village in the interior of Portugal after falling in love with her companion, António Tomás, and with the quietness of the region.
The couple, who own a herd of 60 Bordaleira sheep, a typical breed from the Serra da Estrela region, do not produce cheese, but sells a daily average of twenty liters of milk to a dairy factory.
The woman, mother of three children (a 21-year-old girl who lives in France, another 11-year-old and a 16-year-old boy), does not regret the decision she made and guarantees that what she likes most is tranquility from Camp.
“I am used to the stress of Paris and this is paradise, even after 17 years,” he told the Portuguese news agency Lusa today.
However, Beatrice warns that cattle ranching around the Serra da Estrela cheese line is not an easy task for the youngest and “for those who want to start”, because “there is no government support”.
In his case, he says he does not regret having exchanged the life of the city for that of the countryside, although he recalls that he started to have an activity in which “there are no holidays or Sundays”.
He said that young people today connect more “to the internet and the cell phone” and flee from villages to towns and cities. For this reason, he “does not see” that his example can serve as an incentive for them to dedicate themselves to livestock and pastoral activity.
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