Bourg Saint Maurice - Les Arcs - At La Thuile de Vulmix, on the heights of Bourg In Saint Maurice, then in summer in the Chapieux valley, Aline and Mathieu Michaud-Ruaz lead a life punctuated by the seasons, milking, haymaking and markets. A harsh but chosen life, built around their sheepfold, La FyaThe farm, where some 180 animals - ewes, lambs and rams - make up an increasingly rare landscape: that of family-run, sustainable farming rooted in the land.
It was in 2022 that the couple, originally from the valley, finally switched to this lifestyle. Aline was working at ADS (Domaine de montagne Les Arcs / Peisey-Vallandry), and Mathieu was in charge of maintenance for the Les Arcs ski area.
He has already had a small herd since 2009, in parallel with his duties. "One day, when I was on parental leave for our daughter Jeanne, he said to me: 'Either we stay here or we go full-time with the sheep'. I said go". says Aline, still with emotion in her voice.
Since then, every day starts at 4.30am. That's when Mathieu goes up to the mountain pasture for his first milking. "Once the milk has been drawn off, we start production. Tome cheese, fresh products, yoghurts, dessert creams... We adapt according to the day's production, around 100 litres a day with our 94 dairy cows". she explains. While the curds set, the ewes graze on their own, supervised by their guard dogs.
The cheese dairy is located directly on the heights of Les Chapieux, in a former goat farm that the couple have converted into a sheepfold. In winter, they return to La Thuile de Vulmix to continue production. Here, everything is homemade: the milk, the yoghurts, the tommes, the marbling... and even the hay. "We are 100 self-sufficient %s. The ewes only eat what we mow in Bourg Saint Maurice and Vulmix". says Mathieu.
Ewes, markets and values
Daily life is demanding and the pace fast, but the couple have no regrets. "It's what we were looking for: a life closer to nature, more coherent. And even if we don't do much, everything is well thought out and controlled.
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There's no industrialisation at the sheepfold, just a wide range of artisanal products and short-distance sales: at the farm, at markets in Bourg Saint Maurice and Val d'Isère in winter, and at producers' summer meetings. "We're lucky, people are playing the game, coming back and trusting us". says Aline. Word of mouth works, reinforced by a sincere and regular presence with locals and holidaymakers alike.
But it's not all plain sailing. You have to deal with preconceived ideas about guard dogs, fears about their presence, hikers who come across flocks, and hot weather that puts off taking the animals out at nightfall. "As long as it's hot, the sheep won't eat. So we leave them as late as possible, often until 9pm. Then they come back down on their own, supervised by the dogs.
Passion, patience and respect for cycles are the hallmarks of this small operation, which has set itself a clear ambition: to remain on a human scale, pass on the know-how of the valley, and produce differently. "We've even gone back to a local recipe for ewe's milk cheese, which was originally an adaptation of Tarentaise goat's cheese. It's a nod to the past and a way of continuing the tradition.