Dropping the Fences (episode 3) - TRIAL & ERROR

Veronica and the N'Rougas team learn about stress-free sheep handling ahead of an actual demonstration of what not to do. Finally, they are ready to start regenerative grazing of the land only to discover that nature has many challenges up its sleeve like scorpions, jackals, and sheep intent on escaping.
ABOUT THE SERIES:
In this five-part documentary series, Emmy-nominated and Television Academy Award winning filmmaker, Clifford Bestall follows the story of the two families as they face an uncertain future after seven years of drought and how they chart a new course with Holistic Management and herding, against many odds.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS:
Clifford Bestall is a South African documentary filmmaker who, over the past 40 years, has made award-winning, exposé, historical, and investigative films. Among them: Killers Don't Cry (2001), the first film to win two Grierson Awards (British Guild of Producers); Apartheid's People (co-director), that won a Peabody Award; and The Long Walk of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, a documentary series that was nominated for an Emmy. He later collaborated with Oscar winner Morgan Freeman on the acclaimed The 16th Man (2010), his fifth documentary on Nelson Mandela, that received an Academy Award. In 1985 he was named Television Cameraman of the Year by the Royal Photographic Society. Over the course of his career he has directed films for the BBC, PBS, ESPN and Al Jazeera English. His wife Michele, a medical doctor, worked with him as the scientific director on Lifelines, an eight part series for Aljazeera on the Quest for Global Health.
ABOUT THE FARM:
N’Rougas Farm is a 8,800-hectare sheep farm in the heart of South Africa’s arid Bushmanland region south of the Orange River. Once a diverse savanna, supporting great migrations of springbok and abundant wildlife, the land became degraded and desertified with the onset of sheep farming. On this farm, a profound change is now underway, with a project of renewal and hope to rejuvenate the veld and restore bio-diversity. But, being pioneers in the region, things sometimes go wrong and Veronica and her team don't always have the answers. There are false starts and missteps as the team sets out with one thing in mind, having to adjust when it becomes another. The inevitable and rich process of learning.
Visit the farm’s website: www.nrougas.co.za/

[@veronicabalfourpaul2288]

Thank you for this series. It's very interesting.

[@xikano8573]

The great Joe Salatin would say something to the effect of, you must tithe to Mother Nature. I mean, easy for me to say, but what else is there? Those jackals are clever!

[@annaharris626]

Thank you so much for the work you are doing to explore regeneration, without killing, if possible. Beautiful to see. Please continue to keep us informed. Heartwarming series.

[@oceanwonders]

This is a decent example of the holistic management concept - having to adjust and re-adjust as issues crop up, while always maintaining focus on what the goals are.

[@ingrid1190]

So interesting, and beautiful film work. I can't wait for the next in the series!