Christian Córdoba Arriaga, a shepherd from Peru, spends his days herding and caring for his herd of about 150 goats in California’s East Bay. Employed by local ranch Goats R Us, every few days Arriaga moves his goats to overgrown pastures, grasslands and forests near homes, schools and other buildings where they’re at risk of wildfire.
Target grazing is a centuries-old tradition, and Arriaga, who lives in Peru with his wife and three children, learned how to care for the animals from his parents and grandparents at a young age. “It’s been passed down through generations,” he says. Unlike mechanical culls, Arriaga’s goats don’t spill grease, breathe fires or disturb the soil. “It’s more natural, and it fertilizes the land at the same time,” he says. The goats are particularly fond of sumac oak and broom leaves, which are difficult to remove by hand.
Filmmaker Matthew Boyd followed Arriaga as he worked alone, save for his two border collies, during the 2020-2022 dry summer grazing season. What did Boyd want audiences to take away from the lyrical, contemplative film? “I wanted them to get a glimpse into a simpler, more ancient way of life, living alone with their animals in nature,” he said. He added that with wildfire season starting earlier than ever in the West, it was important to demonstrate “an environmentally responsible way of mitigating wildfires on land that is consistently devastated by wildfires.”
About the filmmakers: Matthew Boyd is an award-winning cinematographer and director based in Oakland, California working on feature films, short films, documentaries and television shows. His work has screened on Netflix, HBO Documentaries, Showtime, in theaters and at film festivals around the world. He is currently in production on his next project: Barren Landis his feature film directorial debut.
About the Contest: Now in its 11th year, the Yale Environmental 360 Film Contest recognizes the best environmental documentaries of the year with the goal of celebrating lesser known works. This year, 714 submissions were received from 91 countries across six continents, including Pulitzer Prize-winning author Elizabeth Kolbert, Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Thomas Lennon, and others. Electronic 360Editor-in-Chief Roger Cohn.
