Iceland review - 2012, Síða 52

Iceland review - 2012, Síða 52
50 ICELAND REVIEW It’s more valuable than biodiesel but if we had used all of it for biodiesel production, we could have powered the entire farm plus two cars for a whole year,” states Ólafur, who is very enthusiastic about alternative energy. “Icelanders have to ask themselves: on what fuel will we run in the future?” SmoKinG SPoTliGHT While posing for a portrait, the wind ruffles Ólafur’s white hair and he jokes that it matches the look of the glacier. Next, he kneels by a large urn placed by the drive- way to his farm and scoops up the black volcanic ash inside—his curse and blessing. Beside the urn a large sign documents the Eyjafjallajökull eruption, which ran from April 14 to May 26. Those interested in learning more about it can visit the exhi- bition across the road opened by Ólafur, his wife guðný and their children on the eruption’s one-year anniversary. “We had to do something because people kept crowd- ing the farm, asking about the eruption. We welcomed them and showed them pictures but needed proper facilities. We wanted to show people that it’s all right to live under a volcano. When it erupts you step aside but then life returns to normal,” Ólafur says of his motives. At a distance of only nine kilometers from the crater by air, Þorvaldseyri became the spotlight of the international media and a frequented tourist destination during the eruption. Pictures of the farm appeared in the world press and it will forever be associated with the awesome ‘Ay-yah-FyAH'-plah-yer-kuh-duhl,’ which emitted as much as 750 tons of ash per second during the peak of the eruption and brought air traffic in the northern hemi- sphere to a halt for almost one week. The world looked on as the ash cloud turned day into night, pastures were flooded by glacial meltwater and covered in ash, and farmers had to lock up their animals and temporar- ily abandon their homes. ouT oF THe aSHeS Two and a half years on and the events are still fresh in people’s minds. “People have saved newspapers and compare the pictures to what they see while looking at the farm and glacier from the driveway. Then they give the newspapers to me,” says Ólafur. His exhibition center, conveniently located by the Ring Road, 140 kilometers (85 miles) from Reykjavík, has proven a major hit, with the total number of visitors nearing 60,000. The highest number of visitors in one day was in August when 600 people had to be let in and out in groups because of the limited capacity in the former car repair shop. Inside, visitors can read about and see pictures of the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption along with other major events in the farm’s and country’s history, and watch a documentary shot at Þorvaldseyri during the eruption. “We just wanted to document the events for ourselves. A filmmaker we knew, who had filmed at the farm on previous occa- sions, arrived at our driveway when the eruption started and we just asked him to film it all,” explains Ólafur. “After watch- ing the documentary, people realize that the family they just saw in the film is also working in the visitor center and exclaim: ‘Hey, it’s you!’ I like meeting people and if Left: Ólafur scoops up the black volcanic ash that threatened to suffocate his farm in 2012. Right: the Eyjafjallajökull Erupts exhibition. fARmING
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