After fleeing the war in Darfur, 27-year-old Essam Abdel-Momen rebuilds his life in the Spanish countryside.
His eight-year journey across North Africa ends with asylum in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta last year.
Drawing on years of herding livestock in Sudan, Essam quickly adapts to farming work in Spain.
He joins a training program in Ciudad Real that connects refugees with farms facing severe labor shortages.
The initiative helps revive Spain’s declining pastoral sector by matching experienced migrant workers with rural employers.
Essam rapidly learns modern milking methods, impressing his employer by calmly capturing a sheep that local farmers struggle to catch.
Now working with sheep raised for Manchego cheese, he still misses the taste of fresh camel milk from Sudan.
Despite finding stable work, Essam regularly supports his displaced family and closely follows the conflict back home.
He says his greatest hope is to return to a peaceful Darfur and reunite with his family.
