Planting on a family farm in West Iceland

WORK/PROJECT: The project is located on a farm in Borgarfjörður in the West of Iceland. Our hosts are a family of three who are active in forestation and are this year starting a small production of essential oil production. The farm has organic certification for cultivated and wild plants and this is the first year that the farmers are planting for essential oils.  The farmers are also beekeepers and keep two bee hives. The farm also keeps about two dozen hens, dogs and a cat.

SEEDS volunteers will help plant thousands of plants as part of ongoing reforestation efforts. About a third of the farmland is dedicated to reforestation. Volunteers will help with planting organic herbs for essential oil production, including making shelterbelts to protect the herbs. Volunteers will also spend one day doing small maintenance projects in a nearby forest.

Volunteers need to be motivated to work mainly outdoors doing physical labour.

ACCOMMODATION: SEEDS volunteers will be hosted in a local community centre, sleeping on beds or mattresses in one shared space. Please bring your own sleeping bag. The house is equipped with a shower and a kitchen.

Volunteers will share the duties of preparing food, cooking meals and cleaning. Meals during lunchtime will be prepared on the farm.

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

LOCATION: Borgarfjörður region is regarded as the setting for most of the Icelandic sagas. The farm is only a few minutes from Reykholt, which is a historic site where the great writer Snorri Sturluson lived and died in 1241. The academic institution Snorra­stofa is situated there, dedicated to the memory of Snorri.

Deildartunguhver, Europe's most powerful hot spring, is also close by. It provides 200 l/sec of 100°C hot water, which is used for central heating in the nearby towns.

The farm is not far from the disappearing glacier Ok, as well as Langjökull (Icelandic for "long glacier"), the second largest ice cap in Iceland (953 km2).

On the farmland there is a beautiful small canyon which has a few nice waterfalls.  Húsafell is close to the community centre where the volunteers stay. Húsafell is a pearl of nature by the glaciers Eiríksjökull and Langjökull. There is a golf course and swimming pool as well as other services for tourists. Near Húsafell there are two beautiful waterfalls called Barnafoss and Hraunfossar, as well as the huge lava caves, Surtshellir and Víðgelmir.

The Agricultural Museum of Iceland is located at Hvanneyri, some 40 km from the farm. It presents and explores the heritage and history of Icelandic agriculture with emphasis on the 19th and the 20th centuries.

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 at interesting sites.

EXTRAS / SPECIAL REMARKS: The participation fee is EUR 180 (Euros). Please note that this fee is to be paid to SEEDS on arrival in either Euros or Icelandic krónas.

Some free time activities will be organized for SEEDS volunteers such as day trips and excursions in the area. Some of them will be free of charge while others might require a financial contribution.

Please bring warm clothes as the weather in Iceland can be cold in September. 

Age: 18+