The Shepherd's Bag continues to write the history of this authentic heritage of southern pastoralism

Jean-Pierre Romiguier launched Le Sac du Berger about forty years ago, in homage to this faithful companion of transhumance of shepherds of the south of France. Midi Libre – Michael Esdourrubailh

Le fameux sac du berger, outil incontournable des acteurs de la transhumance de brebis entre Alpes et sud du Massif Central. Midi Libre – Michael Esdourrubailh

For 40 years, on the foothills of Larzac, in the South Aveyron, Jean-Pierre Romiguier has given to the essential major companion of transhumant shepherds letters of nobility inherited from the 17th century.

It is first of all an adventure. That of arriving at the old renovated farmhouse which, for about forty years, has served as a workshop for Jean-Pierre Romiguier. The place called Layrolle is at the end of an improbable road interrupted by a forest path. We left the A75, crossed the charming village of Cornus, then got lost in the middle of a forest massif that isolates the site a little more.

We are at “Le Sac du Berger”, the fruit of an improbable story committed to the perpetuation of a heritage, that of an old tradition and an old tool that saw the light of day in the 17th century. We are talking about this bag, which is the faithful companion that transhumant shepherds have adopted since that time and that we find in the vast south of France, from the Alps to the south of the Massif Central.

“A meeting with a historian”, starting point of the story

“It was a meeting with a historian that put me on the path to the shepherd's bag”, explains Jean-Pierre Romiguier. Very early on, "around 20 years old", he made the choice to leave a career at SNCF, in Béziers, "to live in my place of origin". Near Saint-Maurice-de-Sorgues, where he was born, in this little corner from the south of Aveyron, on the foothills of Larzac.

His challenge is improbable: to perpetuate the tradition of the bags that the shepherds carried with them during the transhumance of the sheep. This unique traveling companion in which they carried almost their entire life. Compartmented, it was used to store knives, food, ointments and tools.

The tribute to these shepherds of the vast expanses of pastures

The adventure of the new man, who “retired at 20”, begins in 1984, when he decides to put down his life's luggage in this Sorgues valley. He buys an old farmhouse in Layrolle, at the end of nowhere, as if to better mark his desire to turn his back on his nevertheless young past.

It is there that he decides to make his mark, that of an Everyman who pays homage to these shepherds whose only home is the vast expanses of pastures. “I started making the bags by myself, strictly respecting their shape, he says. I didn't invent anything, I followed the same manufacturing rules and the same details”.

A”very popular bag”

A few years later, in 1991, he was faced with a crossroads: should he continue the adventure alone or open up and hire people to grow. “The shepherd's bag was then a very popular bag, made by saddlers with a very raw side, with a natural nobility”.

He opted for openness. By favoring cowhide and sheepskin, this vegetable-tanned sheepskin, he composes his repertoire of history, giving new letters of nobility to this heritage bequeathed for centuries by these solitary shepherds, vector of a southern pastoralism still alive.

He seduces artistic circles and teachers

With its dozen collaborators, Le Sac du Berger has gradually opened up to other objects: sandals, slippers, clothing, small leather goods, boots, shoes, and many other items. “If the shepherd's bag remains our fetish object, it was also necessary to respond to contemporary needs”.

The proof”? The shepherd's bag appeals to artistic circles, teachers, “people who are sensitive to this object”. Beyond that, the whole of society is infatuated with this big, somewhat catch-all bag with a heritage dimension. No less than 70% of the products are sold directly, including 35% via the website. In Layrolle, people don't hesitate to make a detour on their holiday route to come and admire and treat themselves to this object of all identities.

Le Sac du Berger organizes free guided tours every day at 10am and 3pm. Lieu-dit Layrolle, Latour-sur-Sorgue, 0565993660. I subscribe to read the rest