Iceland review - 2014, Qupperneq 50

48 ICELAND REVIEW
SoCietY
tiMe to celebrate
another highlight of Sólheimar’s summer
calendar of diverse events is a perfor-
mance by beloved veteran singer Ragnar
Bjarnason, or Raggi Bjarna, as he’s always
called. the excitement in the community
is palpable, and we’re reminded repeatedly
by residents of his impending visit. But
Sólheimar has its own star, too. Reynir
Pétur Steinunnarson became a household
name when in 1985 he walked the 1,417
km (880 miles) around iceland in a bid to
raise awareness of the status of disabled
people, essentially putting a face to the
statistics. “i really wanted to shine a spot-
light on the community here. there were
of course other reasons, like being the first
to walk Ring Road 1, seeing the landscape
... and all that exercise is of course good for
you, too,” he explains, in between serving
festival visitors a taste of Sólheimar’s fresh
produce.
Back at the campfire, Valgeir is handing
out cups of vegetable soup to visitors. “it’s
made from all the vegetables we grow, like
peppers, carrots, onion, tomato, potatoes
and rutabaga, but we’re also always trying
to do something new, grow something
different. now we’re trying to grow corn,
which isn’t really being done elsewhere in
iceland,” he says. innovation is important
to the farm, he explains, adding that the
volunteers bring with them a lot of new
ideas. “things are always changing and
improving because of what people leave
behind. their different ideas or ways of
doing things have a lasting impact on the
community. it also creates a very interna-
tional atmosphere.”
coMMunity spirit
Paulo Bessa and his partner Pamela Sousa
from Portugal are among the village’s
foreign residents. Paulo spends most of
his time in the herb workshop, produc-
ing soaps, creams, lotions, shampoos and
lip balms, while Pamela works in the
bakery and studies herbal medicine long-
distance. Paulo’s passion for all things
botanical is immediately clear upon meet-
ing him. on a tour of his garden, he
describes enthusiastically the properties
of each plant and his experience with
growing it in iceland. “it’s a challenge
growing a garden here. there are only
a few months when you can plant things
outdoors, and you really need to know
what temperature conditions the different
species can tolerate. it’s a case of trial and
error but it’s great to experiment with it.”
Paulo is also passionate about organic
modes of production. iceland is a long way
behind other countries when it comes to
environmental thinking, he argues. “Perhaps
because everything is still so pure here,
people don’t realize the value of all the water
running in the rivers, the fish, the fresh air,
the unspoiled wilderness. in many countries,
there isn’t a lot of fresh, unpolluted water
left.”
the community spirit is one of the things
keeping the couple at Sólheimar. artist
Wren Bytheway-Hoy, a volunteer from the
United States who has spent time at other
eco-villages, agrees that the atmosphere is a
major draw. “there are small details which
are different here to other places. i also real-
ly like what they’re doing with art. You see it
everywhere—they’re really proud of it,” she
says. For Wren, life in Sólheimar, as in other
eco-villages, is better. “i love the idea of liv-
ing off the land, being self-sustainable. and
for the disabled, it’s also the most natural
and healthy way to live.”
With the community’s name meaning
‘worlds of the sun,’ it’s no surprise that our
weekend at Sólheimar, as well as Skaftholt, is
brightened by sunshine and new friends with
a zest for sustainable and creative living. *

From left to right:
Stefán árnason
and gerhard
Plaggensborg
run through
the process of
cheese-making at
Skaftholt.
Sólheimar resi-
dents guðrún R.
Jóhannsdóttir
and Kristján Már
ólafsson dressed in
their scout uniforms.