Vestmannaeyjar - The Westman islands festival

WORK/PROJECT: This project gives SEEDS volunteers the opportunity to work in cultural and environmental related tasks in Vestmannaeyjar (The Westman Islands) a cluster of islands south of the mainland. The project will be divided in two parts. During the first part we will work together with the locals preparing the village and the island for and running the festival Þjóðhátíð (National festival) which is held 30th July - 2nd of August, and thousands of guests visit. One of the tasks will be to maintain and beautify the camping site and other green areas. We will work hand in hand with the locals assisting them in various tasks in the public areas of the village.

After the festival we will work with the municipality in various tasks such as working on common and green recreational areas, gardening and painting works, cleaning of the coastline, maintaining hiking paths, etc.

ACCOMMODATION: We will live in a sleeping bag accommodation in a local townhouse in the village, taking care of our own cooking. Food ingredients will be provided and a kitchen will be available, we will share the duties of preparing and cooking meals.

Please bring your own sleeping bag, mattresses will be provided.

LOCATION: The Westman Islands are a group of 15 to18 islands, depending on how they are classed. The islands were formed by submarine volcanic eruptions along a 30 Km long fissure lying southwest to northeast. The largest island is Heimaey, 13.4 km2 and has almost 4.500 inhabitants.

Most of the islands have steep sea cliffs, and are well vegetated. Bird hunting and egg collecting are traditional to the islanders’ culture but hunting and fishing are the traditional mainstays of the island economy. Rich fishing grounds surround the islands. For many years Heimaey was one of Iceland´s largest fishing stations. During the main season, people, from all places and walks of life, flocked here to work long hours and earn money. The population of the town trebled and the number of boats multiplied. Today, ships are larger and more technologically advanced production has moved from land-based freezing plants to factory ships and consequently the hustle and bustle of the main season is much a thing of the past.

On 23rd January, 1973, an eruption began in Heimaey just before two in the morning. A fissure opened on the eastern side of the island, only 300-400 metres from Kirkjubæir; the most easterly houses in the town. The inhabitants of Heimaey were woken by the police and fire brigade as they drove around, raising the alarm with their sirens. People streamed down to the docks. Fortunately the weather had been stormy the day before and most of the island´s fleet of 60-70 fishing boats had stayed in harbour. The boats ferried the town’s people to safety in Þórlákshöfn. The eruption ended on 3rd July, 1973. In six months a new volcano, Eldfell, 225m high, had appeared on the island and a new lava field lay to the east and covered 3.3 km2. Around 360 houses had been buried and many others badly damaged. Before the eruption 5.300 people lived on Heimaey, 2.000 of these moved back immediately after the eruption ended. Slowly but surely more families returned and began to rebuild their community.

LANGUAGE: English will be the official language in the camp; high proficiency is not a requirement.

TERMINAL: Closest International Airport: Keflavík (Reykjavík), KEF. Domestic airport is Vestmannaeyjar (VEY). SEEDS organises the “minibus option”, a shared transport from Reykjavík to the harbour in Þorlákshöfn, where the ferry Herjólfur takes the volunteers to the islands and vice-versa, apart from being cheaper and more convenient, it allows volunteers to meet fellow campers and have a relaxed trip, while stopping on the way for interesting and tourist sites.

EXTRAS / SPECIAL REMARKS: Participation fee EUR 180.

Volunteers with artistic skills are encouraged to join! Volunteers will be invited to try out their skills in Fab lab, wich is a small scale digital workshop with the ability to fabricate almost everything.

AGE: 18+