Strawberries in the West of Iceland

WORK/PROJECT: SEEDS volunteers will be working at one of the few strawberry farms in Iceland, located in the West of the country. Our main task will be to harvest (by hand) strawberries but they are grown in greenhouses as the weather conditions in Iceland are not suitable for outdoor growing.

Alongside the harvesting tasks, volunteers will help with making the berries ready for consumers in the Icelandic market, as the farm sells its products in different stores and shops around the country.

Volunteers need motivation to work mainly in green houses doing physical labour. As the strawberry growing is indoors, volunteers will be rather protected from the ever changing weather conditions during working hours, but they need to bring warm clothes to enjoy the surroundings.

The farm is partly run by volunteers, SEEDS volunteers have stayed there for longer or shorter periods and family and friends of the farmer have joined the farm to give a helping hand when the growing has been really fruitful.

Note that the camp takes place on the peak of the harvesting season so the help is really needed and volunteers have to have the motivation to work in a farm environment.

ACCOMMODATION: SEEDS volunteers will stay in sleeping bag accommodation, sharing rooms. Please bring your own sleeping bag. Volunteers will be provided with food and be in charge of preparing and cooking meals as well as cleaning activities.

Do not forget some traditional/typical food from your home country for the international evening.

LOCATION: In Borgarfjörður, a fjord in the west of Iceland, near the town of Borgarnes. Borgarbyggð is a municipality in the Vesturland region of Iceland. The biggest town in the municipality is Borgarnes, with a population of 2000. The waters of Borgarfjörður appear to be calm, however the fjord is on the contrary a rather dangerous part of the sea because of its undercurrents and shallows. There are many flat islands lying in the fjord, but for the most part they are uninhabited.

The land around the fjord has been inhabited since the time of Icelandic settlement. Events in the Icelandic sagas such as that of Egill Skallagrímsson are situated here. The name of the fjord seems to come from the farm of Borg, which according to the sagas was founded by Egill's father Skallagrímur, who took the land around and accordingly gave the fjord the name of Borgarfjörður.

Unlike most other coastal settlements, Borgarnes isn’t dependent on fishing – powerful tidal currents in the fjord have put paid to that – but is primarily a service centre for the surrounding dairy farmers who rely on the town’s slaughterhouse and good roads for their livelihoods. However, the town’s main claim to fame is its historical association with the ninth-century settler, Skallagrímur Kveldúlfsson, father of the pirate, thug and poet Egill Skallagrímsson, hero of Egill’s Saga. Their lives and times are explored in a first-rate museum, while plenty of Borgarnes’ streets recall characters from the saga: Skallagrímsgata, Kveldúlfsgata, Böðvarsgata, Egilsgata, etc.

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

TERMINAL: Closest international Airport: Keflavík/Reykjavík (KEF). Bus station: Central Reykjavík (BSÍ).

SEEDS organises the “minibus option”, a shared transport from Reykjavík to the camps and vice-versa, which apart from being cheaper and more convenient, 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 200 (Euros). Please note that the fees are to be paid to SEEDS on arrival in either Euros or Icelandic crowns.

Our hosting partner will organise free time activities in the area; for instance hiking, sightseeing and visiting a geothermal swimming pool. 

Age: 18+