In 1984 an encounter in the Sahel ravaged by draught marked the beginning of our human adventure among the nomad shepherds. Ever since, we went back more and more often to those sandy, grassy and snowy lands to share the daily life of families who welcomed us as one of them.
We are touched by the deep link with the earth, the strength and wisdom of these people living in some of the most fragile and severe lands of our planet. Their extraordinary capacity to integrate themselves into the harshest environment and to turn simplicity into a lifestyle is a continuous surprise to us.
The nomads’ spontaneous respect for nature and ecosystems is the result of their knowledge and understanding of the environment they live in as well as of their continuous effort to adapt to it in order to maintain a balance vital to their own survival.
Human relationships and shared values are the core of nomads’ life in which the Other has a privileged place.
After each journey, our certainties of sedentary people become less and less certainties.
The Nomad Spirit project is the result of a personal path. A journey in the pursuit of a more authentic human dimension among the nomads who are the guardians of behaviours and values that are the basis of the human being and from which we might draw out inspiration for a new way to consider our relationship with the Other and Nature.
Presenting the nomad shepherds as one entity, and not by geographical areas or by ethnic groups, we wish to emphasize their unique way of life which – beyond cultural appearances – is based on common values.
Nowadays nomads are living a period of transition, trying to find a difficult balance between tradition and modernity.
This project reflects the way of thinking of nomadic people who could prove to be precious allies to modern man in the preservation and conservation of environment. We should never forget their priceless heritage of traditional knowledge and that “nomad spirit” in which stays the force and hope for the future of Man.