Payoya goats are the best.
Our goats are Payoyas. They are the ones our family has always had. And they are so important that we have dedicated their own section to them. When you reach the end of the text, you will understand that they are not only important to us, but also to you.
The Payoya goat is an indigenous goat breed from the Sierra de Grazalema and the Serranía de Ronda, in the province of Cádiz and Málaga, Spain. In other words, they are unique in their species. They are the small cousins of mountain goats, meaning they are semi-wild and cannot live confined on a farm. They need steep mountains, cliffs, and ridges like those in our mountains to be happy. Imagine what the milk must be like from goats that follow a strict Mediterranean diet and spend all day climbing up and down rocks. Many consider it the best of all goat's milk; in short, its quality is exceptional!
Although almost everyone knows them by the name Payoyas, in Casares we have always called them "serranas." In Cortes de la Frontera, "cortesanas." In Montejaque, "montejaqueñas." The name by which they have become popular comes from the demonym of Villaluenga del Rosario (the "payoyos" and "payoyas"). This village in the Sierra de Grazalema is where they are most numerous.
Endangered Goats and Their Guardian Angels
Well, now comes the sad part: it is an indigenous breed in danger of extinction. You read that right. There are fewer than 10,000 specimens left in all of Andalusia.
That is why, in the 90s, the Association of Breeders of the Payoya Goat was created to ensure its survival, its genetic improvement, and to raise awareness about its important environmental role. We take this last part especially seriously, and that is why, for a decade now, we have been organizing activities for schools and, for the past two years, we have been offering visits for anyone who wants to get to know them and taste the cheeses we make with their incredible raw material.
The goatherds who look after these goats are like their guardian angels. But you should also know that goatherds are also an endangered species.
Unfortunately, it is a denigrated, forgotten profession, associated with times of poverty and scarcity. Nobody wants to be a goatherd today, and if things don't change and there is no generational replacement, we will soon cease to exist, just as the Payoya goats will cease to exist. The truth is we don't understand it, because in Crestellina, one of the tasks we all clamor for is being in the mountains with the goats; among all the farm activities, it's the one that produces the most dopamine for us.
The worst part is not that. The worst part is that by neglecting us goatherds and the goats, we neglect our environment. Goats are guardians of the landscape. They eat fruit and defecate seeds, and with this, they diversify our valuable ecosystem, contributing to biodiversity and nature conservation.
Wherever they pass, they keep brushwood at bay, which is easy tinder for fires in summer. Goats should be mandatory in every mountain range and every forest as the most effective method to curb fires. We belong to RAPCA.
Goats and Your Happiness
And what does speed have to do with bacon, you might ask? Well, goats are directly related to your happiness. It's like this...
Because in what crazy world do we live where we consider material possessions to be wealth when we assure you that true wealth is eating a piece of cheese under an oak tree at sunset?
In what crazy world do we live where doctors prescribe nature to their patients to combat unhappiness?...
It's crazy that we are increasingly disconnected from nature; it's crazy that we are destroying it at an accelerated pace.
But we know that there are still sane people out there.
Sane people value artisan products, sane people know that less is more, sane people know that simplicity is found in nature, sane people are happy with little.
Sane people know where real happiness and wealth lie. That's why sane people look for this seal when they seek happiness, I mean, cheese!
By consuming Crestellina cheeses and yogurts with their 100% Payoya breed seal:
- You become part of the guardian angel club for Payoya goats (thank you for choosing us!).
- You support the goatherd profession so it doesn't disappear (and so we don't all lose out!).
- You benefit from all the properties of an incredible food (and you get to taste a piece of history and a little bit of the mountains!).
- You become a guardian of nature (and you take care of everyone's home!).
- YOU ARE HAPPY.
- The person next to you is too.
If you've made it this far, it means you're one of the sane ones. You are Crestellina.
