Collecting herbs in the South - Vík

WORK/PROJECT: SEEDS volunteers will be working for a pioneer Icelandic natural products manufacturer that was founded in the year 2000. The medicinal herbs in their supplements have been used as herbal remedies by Icelandic ancestors for more than a millennium. Our main task will be to harvest leaves of Icelandic Angelica archangelica.

Harvesting the leaves of the Icelandic Angelica archangelica requires working by specific procedures. The procedures are relatively easy to learn, but the tasks can get rather physically demanding and require a good physical condition.

Note that working hours should be regular, but will also depend on weather conditions.

Weather conditions in Iceland are unpredictable, so be prepared to experience all kinds of weather and be sure to bring warm clothing since most of the work will take place outdoors.

ACCOMMODATION: SEEDS volunteers will be hosted in a local house just outside the town Vík í Mýrdal. Volunteers will sleep on mattresses in one big room. Please bring your own sleeping bag.

The house is equipped with a kitchen. Volunteers will share the duties of preparing food, cooking meals and cleaning. There is no shower in the local house, but volunteers will have access to showers in the local swimming pool.

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

LOCATION: The project takes place in the south of Iceland in a beautiful area surrounded by mountains and glaciers to the north and facing the Atlantic Ocean to the south.

The inhabitants here live in constant threat of volcanic eruptions. The area was hit during the recent eruptions in Eyjafjallajökull 2010 and Vatnajökull 2011 and gotcovered by ashes, but the natives here are strong minded and ‘folded up their sleeves’ as the Icelanders express it and proved the common believe that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

The closest town is Iceland’s southernmost village, Vík í Mýrdal.  Mýrdalur is bordered by the glacial river Jökulsá to the west and the river Blautakvísl to the east. Its northern border is the Mýrdalsjökull glacier, which caps the volcanic Mt. Katla, while its southern limits are black sands and the rolling Atlantic waves. The district lives mainly on agriculture. Although this community of 600 inhabitants faces the open Atlantic, Vík is the only seaside settlement in Iceland left without a harbour due to natural circumstances.

The natural beauty of the area is spectacular. Just east of the village's outskirts lies one of Europe's biggest arctic tern breeding grounds. South of Vík is a beautiful beach, which the international Magazines named one of the world's ten best island beaches in 1991. A short hike within the close vicinity of Vík is sure to satisfy all serious nature lovers and bird watchers. Vík and its surroundings is one of the main bird life areas in Iceland.

LANGUAGE: English will be the language in the camp; basic conversational skills are needed.

TERMINAL: Closest international Airport: Keflavík/Reykjavík (KEF).

SEEDS organises a “minibus option”, a shared transport from Reykjavík to the camps and back. Apart from being cheap and convenient, it allows volunteers to meet fellow campers and have a relaxed trip, while stopping on the way for interesting sites.

EXTRAS / SPECIAL REMARKS: Participation fee EUR 200 (Euros). Please note that these fees are to be paid to SEEDS on arrival in either Euros or Icelandic krónas.

Our hosting partner will organise some free time activities for SEEDS volunteers, for instance a day trip and excursions in the area.

AGE: 18+