It is 7 am in the remote, icy land of Yakutia
Sardaana and Andrian wake up early in the morning to start their daily duties
Despite the harsh climate, most people in the village are engaged in cattle and horse breeding
Tending animals in this severe climate requires hard work, but it suits the people who live here
because the hard work keeps them warm in the freezing temperatures
Sardaana and Andrian are just about to enter their cowsheds
Traditional Yakutian cowsheds like this one are made of wood and in order to protect it
from the cold, they apply cow dung to the walls, which helps to keep the cowsheds warm
even through the coldest winters
Sardaana and Andrian raise cows, chickens, and horses, but most of their living comes from their 20 cows
Everyday they milk a cow, and Sardaana must make sure that the cow’s udder and teats are clean
Today they have collected about 40 liters of milk, enough for them to sell with plenty left to keep for themselves
After they milk a cow, Sardaana let the baby cow to drink a bit of milk from his mother
Usually, a newborn cow is weaned off milk at 8 weeks
Sardaana and Andrian have a big family. They have 5 children. 3 of them already have their
own families, 1 is studying in the university far away from the village and the youngest
daughter is a student in the local middle school
Now Sardaana is ready to process the milk. The first thing that she does is to purify
the milk by straining it. After that, she leaves the milk to be cooled for 2 hours
Meanwhile, Andrian is preparing hay to feed his cows. Every year, during the short summer
from July till September, Andrian and his family work hard to harvest all the hay they
will need for the winter months
Each cow needs to eat about 10 kg of hay per day, so Andrian and his family must preserve
around 50 tons of hay in total, to ensure the cows have enough food for the whole winter
Before the cows go outside to eat, Andrian covers their teats to protect them from frostbite
in the extreme cold. The Yakut breed of cattle has adapted well to the harsh climate
They have excellent thermoregulation and a slow metabolism, allowing them to survive at low temperatures
After the milk has been pasteurized, Sardaana separates the milk into the heavier milk fat
and the lighter milk to produce both cream and skim milk. Yakutian cuisine is varied
and includes meat and fish, but generally relies on dairy products
Sardaana and Andrian head back to their cowsheds to continue their daily work
Sardaana feeds a calf (baby cows) from the bottle
Because some calves mother's are producing insufficient milk and they need to be raised with special attention
Meanwhile, Andrian is cleaning out the cowsheds and collecting the cow’s dung. Andrian believes
that the cow’s dung is a useful material that helps in a variety of ways
Cow dung is packed with high levels of minerals and nutrients and is one of the best natural fertilizers to use in organic gardening
Now it’s time to feed their horses. Sardaana and Andrian raise them in the open field
There are no fences and the horses are free to move around, but they have one stallion
(a male horse) who is looking after the stud. He is protecting them and helping them to
find the best grass to eat. Yakutian horses are very intelligent and when it’s time
to eat, the horses come back to the special place and wait for food
Yakutian horses are natives of Siberia and their roots go back centuries. Their thick,
hairy coats, sturdy stature, and their ability to effectively forage for vegetation in deep
snow allows them to survive without shelter for months at a time, in temperatures that plunge to -70°C
After feeding the horses, it’s drinking time for the cattle. In most Yakut villages,
there are no water treatment facilities, because pipes can freeze easily in the cold. So Andrian
and Sardaana have to walk their cattle about 4 km to the lake every day
When they get to the frozen lake, Andrian makes a hole in the ice so the cattle can drink the water
In December, the ice beneath Adrian can be up to 2 meters thick
Since the young calves are not able to be out in the cold for very long, Andrian instead
prepares water for them by collecting the snow from his yard
The snow in the Yakut village has many uses and can be used for taking a shower and cleaning the house
For drinking water, locals are using the blocks of ice that have been harvested
from the river nearby
Yakutian dogs, like Yakutian cattle, are also a special breed that can cope with low temperatures
Yakutian dogs have a double coat with a thick downy undercoat. The top coat hair is longer
and more coarse than the undercoat and they are a very versatile
breed, able to be used as hunters, sled pullers, and herders
Adrian is a very talented artist. Everything in his yard was built by him
He likes painting, making things out of wood and horns that he finds in the forest
After a busy morning, it’s time for lunch. The house is filled with the rich smells of
Sardaana’s cooking. She has prepared a delicious beef soup, traditional pancakes, jam made
out of berries that had been harvested during the summer, whipped cream with frozen berries
and even a Yakutian delicacy - raw frozen horse meat. Everything is made fresh from their farm
While farming in the extreme conditions is challenging, the snow and the cold doesn’t stop
the hardy farmers of Yakutia from creating a simple, happy life for their families full of good food and laughter
They have daily routines, animals to raise, and a close-knit community they can trust
In their tiny, frozen, icy village, they live a beautiful, idyllic life