Reykjavík Grapevine - 15.08.2014, Qupperneq 41

41The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 12 — 2014 TRAVEL
Distance from Reykjavík
84.5 km
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About 100 people live and work in the
community, all of whom play an impor-
tant role in keeping it running and mov-
ing forward. Indeed, Sólheimar (mean-
ing “sunny worlds”) places an emphasis
on community, its population including
people with special needs (nearly half of
the residents), volunteers, instructors,
administrators, and guests. And while Sól-
heimar, like every community, must work
to improve its sustainability going forward,
it occupies a refreshing niche for guests
who travel with the goal of seeing life
through a new lens.
This “intentional community,” as is
increasingly the preferred nomenclature
(considering that “ecovillages”—small,
sustainable communities—have existed
for thousands of years without necessar-
ily placing focus on eco-friendliness) was
started by an eager 29-year-old with a vi-
sion. Often credited as Iceland’s first envi-
ronmentalist, Sesselja was one of the first
in the region to successfully implement
permaculture and organic horticulture,
as well as a Nordic pioneer in care and
education methods for people with mental
challenges. Furthermore, she was ahead
of her time with regard to her implementa-
tion of Rudolf Steiner’s teaching methods,
her insistence on practising reverse-inte-
gration (essentially basing the structure of
the community around those with special
needs) and—almost as controversial at the
time—pushing a vegetable-heavy diet. To-
day, Sesselja’s spirit lives on at Sólheimar
through a community-based, integrated
approach and a focus on environmental
sustainability.
In Sesselja’s spirit
Situated at one of the highest points of
Sólheimar’s verdant swath of land, Ses-
seljuhús resembles a modern Nordic ski
lodge, angular and driftwood-clad. As
the nucleus of Sólheimar’s environmen-
tal emphasis, the building is used to host
conferences and meetings, and is home to
exhibitions that focus on placing environ-
mental topics, such as electric cars and
renewable energy, in an Icelandic context.
Furthermore, Sesseljuhús leads by exam-
ple, as it is partially powered by solar cells
and a wind turbine, supports Iceland’s first
natural waste treatment system, and was
Iceland’s first modern PVC-free building.
Constructed from driftwood found on
Iceland’s beaches and insulated with Ice-
landic lamb’s wool, old phone books and
newspapers, Sesseljuhús represents Ice-
land in its most deliberately sustainable
form.
According to Sesseljuhús Project
Manager, Herdís Friðriksdóttir, the build-
ing functions as an ecocentre and regu-
larly welcomes groups of students inter-
ested in environmentalism in Iceland. “Our
task is to spread the word and teach other
people about sustainability,” she says. Last
year’s recycling exhibition ran in conjunc-
tion with an initiative to improve aware-
ness within the ecovillage, which led to
a 63% reduction of general waste output
after the first few months.
Herdís and her fellow Sesseljuhús em-
ployees are able to test out these initia-
tives in an Icelandic microcosm, though,
admittedly, one with inherently heavier
environmental leanings than its macro
counterparts. For a possible future exhibi-
tion, Herdís sees water usage as an area in
which Sólheimar, and Iceland as a whole,
can improve its awareness: “Another thing
we could do with the community is focus
on water conservation, because I don’t re-
ally think Icelanders truly understand the
value of water.” She continues, “Because
we have so much water in Iceland, people
think that they can just keep the tap run-
ning.” In keeping with Sólheimar’s long-
standing mission, Herdís emphasises the
importance of establishing habits that will
assure a healthy future for the community.
Socially sustainable
Though they place an emphasis on liv-
ing sustainably, Sólheimar is not entirely
sustainable. In fact, one would be hard-
pressed to find a community anywhere in
the world that is sustainable in the truest
sense of the word. However, in order to be
recognised as an ecovillage, a community
must satisfy one of three pillars of sustain-
ability: environmental sustainability, finan-
cial sustainability, or social sustainability.
While Sólheimar uses photovol-
taic solar cells, a windmill, and, unique
amongst ecovillages, a geothermally
heated water borehole, they still depend
on the grid for much of their electric-
ity. Though they make money from their
guesthouses and workshops, Sólheimar
relies on government funding, rendering
them not truly financially sustainable, ei-
ther. Where the “ecovillage” designation
comes from is where
Sólheimar’s real ma-
gic lies—within the
community itself. Th-
ey are considered
socially sustainable
due to employment
opportunities, skill
development pro-
grams, enriching so-
cial activities and
therapeutic progra-
ms for all citizens.
These elements are
reflected at features
such as the church,
theatre, and market,
but most of all, their
workshops.
Flashlight
Sólheimar has six
separate workshops,
devoted to candle-
making, woodwork-
ing, painting, ceram-
ics, weaving and
soap-making, all of
which emphasize
reuse and recycling.
Although they em-
ploy a few profes-
sional artists and
instructors, much of
the work is done by
Sólheimar’s citizens
with special needs.
Some of the artwork
is on display in a fan-
tastic ongoing ex-
hibition and a wide variety of homemade
products can be purchased at the on-site
market, though some are sold in Reykjavík
as well. In the workshops, as well as in the
greenhouse and kitchen, Sesselja’s core
Steiner-inspired teachings are flourishing
in combination with her enduring con-
centration on sustainability. It is this ever-
present mixture that makes Sólheimar a
remarkable place.
These days, most people in first world
countries are able to keep environmental
issues at arm’s length. In a society of “end
users,” we don’t see our food as coming
from a farm (or fac-
tory) and having a
carbon footprint of its
own—to many of us,
food comes from the
colourful, shimmering
aisles of Bónus and
other supermarkets.
With society’s help,
we’ve built up strate-
gically placed igno-
rance regarding the
things that sustain
us. Due to this insu-
lation, those rare mo-
ments when we break
through our cogni-
tive dissonance are
valuable and can be
strangely satisfying.
Even as a guest at
Sólheimar, it is easy
to appreciate a com-
munity so focused on
making a difference.
While Sólheimar isn’t
perfect, it is refresh-
ing to be immersed
in the spirit of trying
to do the right thing,
from practising ba-
sic human respect to
developing a deeper
environmental con-
sciousness. We be-
come so dependent
on certain securities—
our comfort zone, our
habits, our image of
the world. It’s easy to
subconsciously use
them like a flashlight, illuminating what we
keep straight ahead of us in order to get
through the day.
At Sólheimar, the flashlight becomes
dimmer. It takes a minute for your eyes to
adjust, but once you do the view is wholly
rewarding.
If you’re looking to volunteer,
head to www.solheimar.is to fill
out an application.
Overnight guests are welcome to
stay in the guesthouses, but pro-
spective guests are asked to book
their accommodation beforehand
In addition to clean,
spacious guesthouses,
Sólheimar features:
A café serving locally grown or-
ganic food.
One of the area’s largest forest
preserves.
A church that regularly hosts
concerts in the summer.
An organic food and craft market,
and more
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