Iceland review - 2013, Qupperneq 33

ICELAND REVIEW 31
the idea came to us a few years back
and we found that it suits what we
stand for, to safeguard our own his-
tory, culture and production, cherish our
values and nurture our own cultural aware-
ness. We are who we are and we’re not
trying to be anything else than a small
municipality,” explains gauti Jóhannesson,
district manager of Djúpavogshreppur. In
April, Djúpavogshreppur municipality of 463
inhabitants, including the town Djúpivogur
and surrounding rural area, became the
first in Iceland to obtain a Cittaslow certi-
fication. Innovation Center Iceland backed
the municipality’s efforts to join Cittaslow;
the application process was long and com-
plicated as the community had to fulfill a
number of conditions before being accepted.
“It’s a certain standard that we’ve now
publicly declared that we will follow,” says
gauti. “We’ve pledged to demonstrate great
hospitality, the community will emphasize
local food and locally-made products and
local companies can now promote their
products under the Cittaslow label.” Born
out of the ideology of the Slow Food move-
ment, Cittaslow’s goals include slowing the
process of homogenization and globalization
of towns, improving quality of life, protect-
ing the environment and promoting cultural
diversity. Originating in Italy, the ideology
has spread around the world.
“Experience has shown that Cittaslow
communities see a boost in tourism but that’s
not our purpose, it’s not part of a market-
ing initiative. Our purpose is more internal,
to highlight who we are,” stresses gauti.
Fisheries and agriculture are the municipal-
ity’s main source of income. “Fishing is by
far our largest industry. Seventy tons were
landed yesterday—it’s the backbone of our
community.” Tourism is growing with tours
to Papey island being popular and bird
watching on the rise—the southeastern cor-
ner of the country is where migratory birds
first arrive. Stone collecting is a widespread
hobby with a new stone museum opening
up in Djúpivogur last summer. In addition,
innovative small-scale industries are operated
in town, such as boat building, invention of
new fish processing equipment and fashion
design. “The location of Djúpivogur, far
away from other communities, has helped
us in that we’ve never waited for anything;
we’ve never waited for large scale industries
to come to us. We’ve had to make our own
living and make an effort to thrive, which
makes our community more dynamic than
those that lie on the edges of larger towns,”
theorizes gauti.
Inhabitants have largely reacted positively
to the Cittaslow initiative and the district
council is now planning the next steps.
“We’re going to have an open town meeting
at the end of May to present the concept
and in the autumn people can join differ-
ent courses and workshops where they learn
how to make slátur [Icelandic blood pud-
ding and liver sausage from lamb], debone
reindeer, prepare beestings, make juice from
blueberries and crowberries and fillet fish,”
says gauti, stressing that these are things
that locals have always been doing but the
Cittaslow ideology highlights the importance
of the knowledge being passed to younger
generations. And the young are certainly
involved; at school emphasis is placed on
lessons about the community’s history and
culture. “We’re also collecting place names
and learning about our environment, and
the travel association organizes trips in our
vicinity.” Preservation of old houses and
nature protection is also important to the
community. gauti is optimistic for the future
of Djúpivogur. “The population has been
slightly increasing and the age composition
is notable: 8.4 percent of inhabitants are one
to five-years-olds, compared to the country
average of 7.3 percent. The parents of these
children are young people who left for edu-
cation and have now returned.” 
gauti Jóhannesson, district manager
of djúpavogshreppur.
Búlandstindur, djúpavogshreppur’s
landmark mountain.
CULTURE