Iceland review - 2012, Page 53

ICELAND REVIEW 51
they’re satisfied when they leave, that’s the
best gift of all.”
The farm’s products are sold at the cen-
ter, including rapeseed cooking oil, ground
barley and breakfast cereals, along with
Icelandic design and products inspired by
the eruption, such as perfume made with
water from Eyjafjallajökull. Ash and lava
stones are available as souvenirs and even
soap made from rapeseed oil and ash. When
asked whether tourism hasn’t become a
money-maker for the farm, Ólafur responds
that establishing the exhibition was a big
investment. “But repaying it will take less
time,” he admits. Meanwhile, the farm’s
cash cows are its actual cows, churning
out 250,000 liters of milk annually. With a
humorous glint in his eyes, Ólafur adds, “and
at the center we milk a similar amount.” 
The first picture of the volcanic eruption in Eyjafjallajökull—which appeared on the covers of all the world’s main
newspapers and made Þorvaldseyri famous—shot by Ólafur in the morning of April 14, 2012.