Research will be carried out in 10 Topics The main objective is to carry out systematic research and documentation on a wide spectrum of themes that relate to the cultural heritage of sheep farming and pastoral life across Europe, with a view to:
Create an inventory of ethnographic material that will be made publicly available to researchers, educators and other interested parties.
Support the exhibitions and the educational activities of the project by offering a sound ethnographic and historical basis.
Provide well documented material for the publications of the project.
The research will concentrate on ten themes, which have been identified, through initial investigation by the co-organisers of the proposed project. These include;
1.Handicrafts based on the products of the sheep (wool, leather etc)
2.Architecture related to sheep farming activities
3.Pastoral life : Everyday life objects, life-styles
4.Transhumance routes
5.Landscape and sheep farming
6.Cuisine based on sheep products,
7.Oral tradition, myths, legends, celebrations, music and songs
8.Traditional food technology (diary products, meat)
9.Pastoral life in art
10.Rural economy based on sheep farming – tourism, ecology, named origin products etc
A thorough literature review will be conducted on all the above themes leading to a library of publications. The ethnographic part of the research will result to an inventory of visual and audio materials with explanations, in the context of each theme.