Drogpa Project

“Drogpa” is the name given to Tibetan nomadic herders who live with their yaks in the high-altitude steppes. They are the people of the solitude of the mountains of Central Asia. The Drogpa Project, initiated by Rosula Blanc, aims to better understand yaks: their ethology, biology, learning habits, and experience of the world. Although yaks are present on farms in the Alps, particularly in Switzerland, our knowledge of yaks in Europe is very limited. No one has really taken an interest in yaks as pack animals. Almost everything about working with them remains to be discovered. With this in mind, the Drogpa Project is a long-term endeavor. Its ambition is to deepen our knowledge of yaks and make it available to an interested audience (farmers, enthusiasts, researchers). To this end, studies and observations gathered in the field will be recorded in writing, images, conferences, and exhibitions, which will be referenced and made accessible.

Aims of the Drogpa-Project

Observe and study yak ethology :
1. Rhythm of life
2. Communication within the herd.
3. How do they perceive the world? (Vision, hearing, smell, body sensitivity)?
Study how yaks learn:
1. How do you train a yak to carry loads?
2. To follow a human being?
3. At what age should you start?
4. What is the clearest, most respectful, non-violent way to communicate and work with a yak?
5. What are their talents?
6. What behaviors inherent to the species must be respected and integrated
Observe the effect of co-domestication on ourselves, what it teaches us about the forgotten art and knowledge of the nomadic shepherd. (Co-domestic relationship: the social adaptation of animals in association with human beings by means of mutual cross-species interaction and social engagement. In "Living with the Herds, Human-Animal Co-Existence in Mongolia by Natasha Fijn).
Share and publish observations (photos, texts, conferences, videos))

To achieve this:

Field research projects: long journeys across the mountains to live in caravans with the yaks for several months so that their true rhythm can emerge. Close contact, work, and daily cohabitation to observe their behavior in detail, learn, adjust, listen...
Trips to visit Central Asian herders, observing how they manage their herds and how they work and live alongside the yaks.
Collaborations and exchanges with other yak specialists and people working on shepherding knowledge and communication within herds of ungulates
Publication on the internet, books, conferences, exhibitions, films.

Completed projects: see here

Publications: see here

Conferences et films

Numerous public conferences in French-speaking Switzerland on the adventure of the “Transalpine with yaks”
Participation in the “5th International Conference on Yak” in Lanzhou, China, in 2014
Participation in the documentary on ArteTV « Meuh l'épopée des cornes (4/4) Le yack à la conquête des sommets »