In the early nineties, in Larzac, small scale sheep farmers were struggling to make ends meet - Roquefort houses were closed to new suppliers and government quotas penalised small producers.
Shepherd and sheep farmer André Parenti decided to create a cooperative and then presented this to the breeders of the Causse du Larzac. 11 local shepherds joined and their goal was to use the money they had all made from previous milk sales, as well as their ewe’s excellent quality milk, to create a small production sheep’s milk cheese that didn’t need to meet huge industry quotas.
Unfortunately the cooperative wasn’t able to secure any financing from the bank, so instead turned to the local people of Larzac, who cared about the local environment and about small producers, and raised enough money for them. In December 1995, the cooperative ‘Bergers du Larzac’ was born and by April 1996, the first cheese was made.
The shepherds decided to look to the local neighbourhood for inspiration and found that a neighbour of theirs was using old Dutch Gouda moulds to make a classic ‘Tomme’ cheese, which gave the cheeses a lovely round shape. They sourced some vintage moulds of their own and began experimenting. They hired a Basque ‘cheese technician’ to learn about the intricacies, process and recipe for ewe’s milk cheese, bought up some land and started production.
The dairy was built and remains based in the ‘Parc Naturel Régional des Grandes Causses’, a UNESCO heritage site, on the ‘Plateau du Larzac’, an area of Southern France. The name ‘Haut Barry’ simply comes from the name of the road that the workshop was originally situated on. The road name meant ‘Great Barrier’ as it was located next to the old ramparts (defensive boundaries) of an ancient Templar city.
There are now 80 farmers based across 33 farms in the region, who collect milk from their herds and vote in the cooperative’s General Assembly. More than half of the farms involved are organic and 100% of the sheep are ‘Lacaune’ ewes. These are an ancient breed of sheep from the region, who are adapted to grazing in the area and produce the highest quality ewe’s milk. The ewes are almost entirely pasture fed, but also eat homegrown hay and cereals in the winter. The dairy guarantees that GM foods are never used.
Of the 33 farmers who supply milk to the dairy, 17 are certified organic and 16 follow organic regulations but do not yet have certification. This organic way of farming improves biodiversity, air and water quality, keeps the soil healthy and has innumerable benefits for the animals involved.