The Birlisan family's autumn camp is located in an expansive valley of the Altai Mountains in western Mongolia. These nomadic cattle breeders have in recent months been provided with a brand new power supply, an enormous improvement as for generations they have lived in tents like these with no electricity, toilets, or running water, apart from that provided by the tiny river of this valley, but now they can finally recharge the batteries of their mobile phones. In order to survive on the mountain steppes they are dependent on cattle breeding.

When the temperature falls below freezing during the night, it’s time for slaughtering to store the necessary meat for winter. Because the Kazakhsare Muslims, they slaughter according to strict rules: the animal must bleed out fully so that the meat is halal, i.e. clean.

Like all Kazakhs, the Birlisan family is of the Muslim faith. In addition to the sports awards it has won, there are also a few communist party medals, although they are now somewhat old hat. In the five days we spend in this valley, we also visit other families, all friends or relatives of the Birlisans.

The main reason for our visit here in the Altai is to document some of the ancient customs of the Kazakhs, and one of these customs is hunting with an eagle. Many families keep one of these birds of prey for this purpose.

The Birlisans make their own cheese, including curd cheese, yoghurt and butter. It's a job they have to do about twice a week because they can't keep the milk too long without a refrigerator. The different work processes are similar to those done a century ago in the West.

Here, more than three million people live in a country that is four and a half times larger than Germany, almost a third of whom are nomadic cattle breeders. Their cattle herds are their capital, whose yield provides them with daily necessities: milk, animals' manure, which supplies them with fuel, leather and wool for shoes, clothing and tents and, of course, which provides them with the necessary proteins.

This was the chance of a lifetime. A lifelong, memorable experience!